Wind Through My Hair
by missing410years
Summary: Rose & Scorpius have never gotten along, but Rose is hiding things about herself that only a few people know about her. What will happen when Scorpius finds out. Will he betray her or will they connect in a way few people will believe. Sorry that was crap
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

Rose's POV

A girl read in front of a warm fireplace as it crackled and popped. Her long wavy red hair fell like a glistening curtain around her face. She looked up and gazed tiredly into the red flames. She turned slowly and put down her book at the sound of a voice, "Rose... Rose... ROSE ANSWER me this minute!" She got up sharply, knocking over a wooden stool as she left the room in a rush, her red hair sailed out behind her and her shoes clicked precisely on the ground as she rushed away from the warm room.

"What mum?" Rose asked.

"Well I was going to ask if you were done packing, but I can see now that is was silly to ask," her mum responded.

Rose said nothing because it was silly to ask if she was done packing. She had pack for Hogwarts last week just like she always did. She and her mum stood there awkwardly until Rose turned on her heel and was about to leave the room when her mother's voice called her back. "Rose," Hermione said softly, "I can't believe that," she paused.

"What mum? You can't believe what?" Rose questioned sharply.

"Well that it's almost your last year. Only this one and next year," she said sadly.

"Well, I can," said Rose quickly wanting this conversation to stop. "Is Hugo ready to go yet? I can't be late."

"Yes," said her mum still sad, "He's almost ready and Rose," she paused again, "congratulations on being a prefect."

"Thanks," Rose said shortly as she left the room.

She walked upstairs running her fingers over the whorls on the handrail on one side and on the other she felt the ridges of the dark wood paneling on the wall. She stepped onto the landing and felt her shoes sink into the plush carpet. She padded down the mint green hallway and into her room. She walked in and went over to the mirror. Looking back at her was a tall slim girl. Red hair poured over her creamy shoulders and framed a delicate face, large blue eyes were fringed with long black lashes, a pert nose was enhanced with a plump pink heart shaped mouth, and high cheek bones accented elegantly broad shoulders. Her shoulders slimmed down into thin but toned arms. She was wearing a simple white button down blouse that stretched tightly over her breasts. A Hogwarts uniform skirt sat on her hips and swung flirtatiously around her perky butt when she walked. Her grey knee socks stopped at her knees exposing long milky legs. Finally, two inch black velvet pumps added on to her already 5'8 height.

She turned, satisfied with her image, and picked up a grey woolen trench coat that went down to her knee socks. She buttoned up the jacket hiding away what her dad would find scandalous, tied her hair up in a tight bun, put her pumps in her trunk, and put on simple black flats. She rolled her eyes at her actions but knew she had to do so otherwise she would never be able to leave the house.

She closed her trunk and pulled her wand out of her pocket. She fingered its smooth vine wood outside and felt the top where a single soft unicorn hair was peeping out. Then she pointed it at her trunk and muttered, "_Reducio._" She watched as the trunk shrank until it was small enough to fit in her palm. She scooped it off of the hardwood floor and put it in her pocket along with her wand. Next she grabbed her owl's cage off of her neat dresser. The owl was snowy white, not unlike the one her Uncle Harry always reminisced about, and had beautiful glowing golden eyes. Finally, Rose walked out of her room and shut the door softly. She walked down the hall to her brothers room. She peered cautiously inside his open door and saw her redheaded, pain-in-the-neck, younger brother lying on his bed, packed and ready, but asleep.

Finally, after standing there for a minute or two, she walked in quietly and pulled out her wand. Just when she was going to shoot a spell at him he grunted and woke up.

Hugo sat up quickly and noticed her wand, his eyes widened, and he groaned, "Rosie, really, you could have woke me up more nicely."

Rose smiled, "Yeah, I could have, but luckily I didn't have to. Let's go. I don't want to be late."

They walked down stairs to the kitchen and greeted their parents.

"Hey, Mum," said Hugo.

"What about me?" Ron joked.

"Hey, Dad," responded Hugo smiling.

"You both ready to go?" their dad asked.

Rose stayed quiet, but nodded, uncomfortable and impatient. She wanted to go and see her friends. She did not want to be quiet little Rosie anymore. She wanted to party.

"Alright, let's apparate. Hugo come with me, Rose go with your mother," her dad decided.

Rose grabbed her mother's arm and waited in apprehension of the sickening feeling of being shot through a straw. Suddenly they were gone from her house, it was pitch black, and she being twisted upside down, sideways, and pressed inward all at the same time. With a pop they landed behind a pillar in King's Cross Station. Rose disentangled herself from her mum and walked through the stone barrier that lead to platform nine and three-quarters. Mist rose up and about and the excited voices of people seeing their friends again filled her ears. She started walking toward the train when her mother grabbed her arm suddenly.

"Wait until we see Ron and Hugo before you leave, even though we are not all on the best of terms does not mean you can leave without saying bye," her mother ordered.

Rose nodded mutely. Her father and Hugo suddenly walked through the gates and onto the platform. She walked quickly over.

"Bye Dad, see you at the feast Hugo," she said sharply to them both before leaving quickly to board the train. She hoisted herself up and hurried to a compartment at the back of the train. She went in enlarged her trunk to its full size, took off her coat, took out her shoes, placed her coat in her trunk and her shoes on her feet. Next, she let her locks out of their restricting bun. She closed her trunk just in time for the compartment door to bang open noisily. Rose turned away from the window where she was putting on lip gloss and saw her least favorite person of all time: Scorpius Malfoy. She frowned, sending her angelic features into wrinkled disarray.

"What do you want?" she fired at him.

"Nothing. Do I look like I want something?" Scorpius asked coolly.

"N-no," stuttered Rose, not sure how to respond.

"At a loss for words, Weasley? That's unusual."

"Is that really the way to talk to your best friend's cousin?"

"Well, not in most cases but in yours it is," he fired back.

"Ooh, ouch," said Rose rolling her eyes.

"Guys, cut it out," said a voice from behind Scorpius. A short boy with black hair and bright green eyes stepped around Scorpius and smiled at them both. "You guys need to get along this year. Please this is the last year-"

"Albus!" Rose exclaimed.

"Never mind. Just get along," he recovered.

"Al, what were you about to say?" Scorpius asked curiously.

"Nothing, just that you need to get along."

"Okay," said Scorpius skeptically, deciding to let it go.

"Al, I need to go," Rose said hurriedly, desperately wanting this conversation to end. "I want to find Jasmine before the prefect meeting. She left quickly, the door banging shut behind her.

Scorpius' POV

"What's she in such a tiff about?" asked Scorpius.

"Nothing," Albus said, but Scorpius watched him curiously. The black haired Potter squirmed uncomfortably on the seat under his best friends scrutiny.

"Okay, fine. It's something, but really only Rose should tell you!" Albus burst out breaking under the pressure from Scorpius' stare. Scorpius only hmmed in agreement and decided to change the topic.

"So are we ready to have the first party of the year?" he said excitedly.

Albus, always the party man, replied, "Yeah, am I getting the firewhiskey?"

"Yeah, I got it for the end of the year party last year, so it's only fair if you do it this time," Scorpius reasoned.

"Okay, I'll deal with it, but you have to find the room of requirement."

"Of course, it's our party, not just the Albus Potter party!" exclaimed an indignant Scorpius. Rose returned with Jasmin, ending the conversation.

"Up," said Rose, flicking her fingers at Scorpius, indicating she wanted the seat for her and her friend. Scorpius just smirked. Who did she think she was just ordering him around?

"No way Weasley," Scorpius said lazily. "You can't just flick your fingers and make me move."

"Oh yeah? Watch me," she responded. The stunning red head in front of him flicked her fingers once more and a strange purple light issued from them, levitating him and dropping soundly on his butt on the other seat with a thump. Rose smirked and sashayed across the small compartment to sit across from him, she pulled Jasmin behind her. Scorpius said nothing, not wanting to admit defeat and studied the two girls in front of him. Jasmine was a small girl with chocolate eyes, skin and hair. She was quite curvy but covered it up with sweaters and coats. Rose on the other hand had creamy skin, huge eyes that looked like pools of blue water, and long athletic arms, legs and torso. Despite her athletic body, she had surprisingly big breasts. Oh damn. Scorpius, stop thinking about her, he thought angrily.

"Scorpius," said Albus in an annoyed tone, obviously angry at having to repeat his name, "I asked you if you were game?"

"Game for what?" he asked dazedly. He looked around the compartment and noticed Rose smirking at him. Shit! Did she notice where he was looking?

"For the party?" Albus continued oblivious to what was happening between his best friend and his cousin. "Do you still want to have it even though Ash won't be there?"

"Yeah, sure" Scorpius responded dragging his gaze slowly off of Rose.

"Oh, fuck!" Rose said nervously looking at her watch. "The prefect meeting starts in two minutes and it's at the front of the train."

"Oh yeah, we should go," Scorpius said unenthusiastically.

"You're a prefect!" said Rose disgustedly. "What nice a surprise."

The two hurried down the train corridor leaving Jaz and Al alone in the compartment. There were kids standing in the corridor as Scorpius and Rose rushed down it. As they came closer to the front of the train, Scorpius saw his friends from Slytherin in the corridor and stopped for a moment to say hi, but Rose started tugging on his sleeve. He stuck his head into the compartment where is girlfriend Ashley would be and he saw her snogging the hell out of his buddy, Landon Zabini. They broke apart gasping and Ash sat on Landon's lap to cover him up for obvious reasons. Scorpius looked at them in contempt and Rose looking over his elbow frowned, probably at the lack of clothing on the two. Ash had only a lacy green bra on and it was slid sideways, squashing one of her very large breasts into Landon's bare chest. As they both breathed in and out her breast quivered and jiggled. She wore a matching green thong on the bottom, lace only covering the very front of her. They both looked nervously at Scorpius waiting for his reaction. Scorpius found the whole thing very funny and started laughing. Honestly, he was tired of Ashley. She was just fun to fool around with, and not very good to talk to. Seeing as he was laughing, the two sitting in the compartment looked at him curiously.

"Landon," he gasped out in between laughs, "you can have her. Stop looking scared, she was just a good fuck." A silent look of relief passed over their faces and then Ashley started getting mad.

"Just a good fuck!" she exclaimed. "Not even great!" Then Rose started tugging his shirt again.

"While this was highly amusing, Malfoy, I would really prefer not to be late to our first prefect meeting." He frowned but agreed. As they were leaving, he looked back, before the compartment door swung closed, and saw that Landon and Ash had picked up their previous activities again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Rose's POV

Rose was angry. Scorpius just had to stop by and see his friends before the prefect meeting. Seeing the events unfold in the train compartment between Scorpius' now ex-girlfriend and his friend was hilarious, and even more funny was that he had just laughed. Normally, she would have rubbed it in his face that his girlfriend had cheated on him, but instead she found it kind of sad that he did not care enough about any person, even his girlfriend, to be upset. As she walked down the dimly lit, carpeted corridor she studied the back of the boy in front of her. His pale blond hair covered his head. His broad shoulders were encased in a handsome grey button-down shirt. A slim piece of pale skin peaked out from above his collar. Blue jeans skimmed his toned legs and butt. Finally, black and green trainers showed through at the bottom of his jeans.

Rose, stop it, she told herself. You're not checking him out, you're just observing. Nice, flattering observations, she scolded herself. Ugh, Rose, stop. To put her mind off of Scorpius she thought about her family's reactions to her news.

"_You're dropping out of school next year!" Hermione said, shocked. "To do what?"_

"_I already explained this to you! To play quidditch,"_ _Rose had replied calmly._

"_Rosie," Ron had said cautiously, "are you sure this is the right thing to do?"_

"_Positive!" said Rose emphatically. "I've never been more sure in my life!"_

"_But Rose," her mother had paused carefully, "you've never even played."_

"_Yeah," chimed in her father, "what about playing?"_

"_Sure, I've never played," she paused to build the suspense, "but have you seen me fly?"_

"_Well, no" admitted Ron._

"_Someday you will, and then you'll understand."_

"_Rose! You can't just throw away your education on a whim. It's meant so much to you and you've been doing so well," her mother said angrily._

"_No Mother, it's meant so much to you. I did it all to please you! You always wanted me to have the best grades, never to play quidditch!_

"_And you, Dad," she turned to Ron, "You told me on the very first day of school to make sure to beat Scorpius Malfoy at my school work! You did not even think about quidditch!" with that, Rose had turned and left the room. She had hoped so much that maybe they would understand, but no, she was wrong._

Rose smiled sadly at the back of the boy in front of her as he pushed open the door to the prefect compartment. She walked forward, but he did not even hold the door, so it banged shut in her face. She rolled her eyes. Malfoy, always the gentleman. She pushed open the door and walked in. The compartment was already very full and left no seats for her unless she sat next to Scorpius. She walked over slowly, unhappy with the situation, and sat down. Her thigh pressed into his, it was warm and her legs tingled. As she shifted, her white blouse brushed his grey silk button shirt, making a soft brushing sound. The door opened to the compartment once more and in walked the two heads.

Molly Weasley and Teddy Lupin. Rose smiled happily at the familiar faces. She felt movement next to her and she glanced at the boy next to her. He had nodded at Teddy.

"Okay, thanks for showing up on time," said Molly. "We just want to review the guidelines of being a prefect and we also want to assign you to your patrol pairs."

"So," Teddy broke in, "the rules are simple. You can't dock points or give detentions, but you can alert a teacher to do so. You will patrol at assigned times with your assigned partner. There will not be any trading of partners."

"Alright," said Molly, "the partners are as follows: Zabini and Goyle, Malfoy and Weasley."

At those three words, Rose zoned out. Malfoy and Weasley, Weasley and Malfoy. Rose ran the names over her tongue trying to process them and found she could not.

"Well, that's it," Molly said brightly, interrupting Rose's train of thought. Rose got up quickly and left the prefect compartment in a rush. She wanted to talk to Albus and Jasmine before Scorpius arrived back at their compartment.

Scorpius' POV

Scorpius got up slowly after Rose's warm leg had disappeared in a rush at the end of the meeting. Outside, his face was calm and collected, but inside, his thoughts were in turmoil. He had been paired with none other than Rose fucking Weasley. He did not like her attitude towards him one little bit, but at least she was pretty to look at.

He was walking down the hallway now and students were in their compartments changing into their robes, so the hall was empty, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Would working with Rose be good or bad? He paused outside his compartment door when he heard the raised voices of Al and Rose.

"Albus, it's my second to last year I don't want to spend it with him," Scorpius heard Rose complain. "Now that he's my patrol partner, I have no way of leaving without him questioning me."

"Well Rosie, you could ask for a change in partner," Albus responded logically.

"I would have if Molly and Teddy had not banned trading your partner."

"I don't know Rosie, you're a smart girl, you'll figure something out."

There was a long silence and Scorpius decided that it would be fine to go in now. They glanced up as he walked in and resumed his seat that Rose had "given" him. As the three others in the compartment chattered about the welcome back feast, he thought about the conversation that he had overheard. It sounded like it was going to be Rose's last school year next year and that she needed the extra time patrolling duties would take up. It made him curious as to what Rose had been talking about.

He decided that he would let Rose off the hook if she asked about leaving the patrol duties to him, but he would follow her and find out what she was up to. When he came out of his thoughts, he saw that the other three teenagers were taking out their robes and pulling them on. He stood up to do the same. He grabbed his well-worn wooden trunk and opened the lid. He pulled out his freshly washed uniform robes and pulled them on quickly. He turned and put his trunk back up on the rack above his head and turned and sat down. He watched as Rose struggled to put her robes on, one of her sleeves bunched up. She twisted, causing her white shirt to stretch tight against her figure. Scorpius inhaled air through his teeth, making a quiet hissing sound.

"You okay mate?" asked Albus.

"Yeah, fine," muttered Scorpius. Albus shrugged and finished pulling on his robes. They both watched as Rose and Jasmine sat down, right before the train started to slow. Scorpius watched Rose smile softly out the window at the lit up castle. They all got up and left the compartment and entered the train corridor where they were engulfed with the noise of students talking.

All the students' robes swished as they walked and jumped out of the train. The first-years nervously walked toward the boats waiting on the glassy lake. Scorpius smiled as he remembered his ride up to Hogwarts in his first year.

"_There's one boat left, Malfoy," Rose said knowingly. "You might as well get in."_

"_With a Potter and a Weasley?" he smirked. "That's rich."_

"_Well you don't have an option now," Albus said. "Climb in."_

_Scorpius grumbled, but climbed in._

"_I'm Albus Potter and the redhead is-"_

"_Weasley," he interrupted, "I know."_

_Rose turned away from him, frowning, but still Albus looked at him._

"_So you know us. Would you care to introduce yourself?"_

"_Not really," Scorpius replied flippantly, "but I'm Scorpius, Scorpius Malfoy."_

"_Oh, nice to meet you," Albus said, smiling._

_Scorpius decided he liked this kid and if he got sorted into Slytherin then he would be friends with him. If not, then they could simply be acquaintances. As for the girl, he could not care less._

_The ride over was peaceful as the wooden boats glided smoothly over the water. He looked up at the castle in awe, taking in its full image for the first time. It was enormous and it sat at the edge of the water. The lights from the long windows in the Great Hall reflected on the surface. This castle, he decided, looked more like home than anything else he had seen before._

Scorpius looked at his best friend and smiled, glad he had made that decision on his first day at Hogwarts. He watched as Rose, Jasmine and Al climbed into the carriage. Albus turned and looked at him and held out his hand to pull him up.

"Thanks mate," Scorpius said.

"No problem. You ready for some good food?" Albus asked.

"Yup, and a good party," he replied.

He heard Rose sigh and he looked over at her. She was wearing a contented smile.

"It's good to be back," she said. "This place always feels like home."

"Yeah, and the food is just amazing," gushed Jasmine.

"Don't even get me started," Rose said excitedly. "Do not tell my mum this, but I love Hogwarts' cooking much more than hers'. I love the mashed potatoes and the turkey dipped in cranberry sauce. What else? I don't know, I just love it all."

"Wow, don't hold back or anything when we get to the feast," said Scorpius sarcastically. "We would just love to see you burst."

"Well you know how it is," Rose shot back. "A Weasley can't go a second without thinking about food."

"And it shows too," Scorpius said back without thinking. He forgot the unspoken rule: never insult a girl about her figure even if you hate them. He looked nervously at the two girls who were fingering their wands. Scorpius studied Rose. Her eyes glittered maliciously and the tips of her ears were red with anger. At the sight of this he could not have seen a girl who was more beautiful. Then Rose shouted, "Flipendo!" Scorpius flipped backwards and hit his head hard on the back of the carriage. He saw stars and his vision faded to blackness. The last thing he saw was Rose bending over him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Rose's POV

"I really never meant to knock him out," Rose said upset, "I really didn't."

"Yeah well maybe you should have thought about that before you shot a curse that made him flip through the air," Albus said sarcastically.

"Well when I get mad I don't think at all you know that," Rose complained, "Although he really should have thought about the consequences before he called me fat."

"Rosie we both know you're not fat and you never will be," Jasmine said softly.

"Yeah, but it's the thought and the fact that he said it that counts," she said back to her friend.

"Umm, guys why don't you come help me wake Scorpius up that way we're not late instead of bickering about what he said." Albus said exasperated.

"Al it's not that hard just use enervate," Rose said to Albus like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Duh, because we all know every spell in the whole fucking world," he said bitingly.

"Albus, we learned that spell last year don't be angry with me."

"Fine, just wake my friend up."

"Why should I? Give me one good reason." Rose said tauntingly.

"I'll invite you to the party this evening," said Albus triumphantly.

"Fine," she agreed.

"Now wake him up."

"Calm down," she said as she crouched down on the ground next to his prone body on the carriage floor. She pulled out her wand and clearly said, "Enervate." Scorpius woke up with a gasp and clasped his head. He tried to sit up, but Rose pushed down on his firm shoulder. Again when she touched him her hand tingled excitedly. Weird she pulled her hand away quickly.

"Stay still pretty boy," she ordered, "If you sit up you could pass out again."

"Oh thanks for caring," Scorpius said caustically.

"Well Albus," Rose announced, "Your friend is fine and right back at the insults again," she turned to Jasmine, "And you wonder why I didn't want to wake him up."

They looked down at Albus and Scorpius who were both on the floor. The black haired boy was helping the bigger blond haired boy up. Rose watched a Scorpius staggered trying to find footing in the moving carriage and overcome his dizziness of being knocked out. She smiled at the sight. When he looked over she tried to stop smiling but apparently she was unsuccessful because he shot her a cold glare. The carriage stopped then and she climbed out quickly.

"See you at the party Scorpius," she smiled sweetly in his direction. She saw Scorpius turn and look at his friend angrily.

"She's coming to party, after what she did to me!" he said indignantly.

"Hey it was the only way I could get her to wake you up," Albus raised his hands in surrender.

"Just use enervate, we learned it last year," Scorpius said.

"Funny, that's what Rose said."

Rose smiled at the conversation. She was glad he knew that she was the one that had woken him up. She did not know why that pleased her but it did.

"Hey, Rose," Jasmine said softly, "You like him don't you?"

"Who are you talking about?" Rose asked her shy friend.

"Scorpius."

"No," said Rose, "Where did you get that from?"

"Well you're always looking at him and when you knocked him out you looked really worried," Jasmin listed.

"Well of course I was worried. I knocked him out, I would not want that showing up on my record," she responded.

"You keep telling yourself that," Jasmine said, "And that still doesn't explain why you kept looking at him."

Rose did not know what to say so she just looked at her small friend and smiled glad to be back at Hogwarts. As they walked up the steps to the doors at the front of the castle yellow, red and purple leaves crunched under Roses pumps. She walked amidst the other student that were flooding into the building. As she and Jasmine walked through the entry hall Headmistress McGonagall stood on one of the staircases overseeing the students entering. She frowned down on Roses attire but her eyes slid past her and onto the next student.

Rose walked into the great hall and her breath was taken away. Every year when she walked in her breath was taken away. The candles were suspended by the hundreds illuminating the hall in a beautiful light. Suddenly the lights turned from golden to red. People started pointing and laughing at the candles. James Potter, Rose thought, only him would think of something a brilliant as that. On the first day back no less she thought in disbelief. She looked through the crowd until she saw James. He was being reprimanded by both his cousins, Molly and Teddy. The only problem was that Teddy was laughing as he was doing so.

"Isn't this the funniest thing," Rose burst out.

"Yeah," Jasmine agreed between spurts of laughter.

Rose looked over just in time to see James wave his wand and all the candles turned golden again bathing the hall in a golden light. Rose sat down at the Gryffindor house table with her housemates while Albus and Scorpius went over and sat down under their green and silver house banner.

Rose sat patiently as the students got sorted. She did not really pay attention but instead she watched Scorpius. The handsome blond sat on the bench across the hall. His pale yellow hair shone under the candlelight. He grey eyes appeared illuminated. The lighting almost made his skin sparkle. He was so sexy. Whoa, Rose where did that come from? Stop it, you don't like him you're just imagining things because of what Jasmine said. Rose glanced at the girl sitting next to her and Jasmine smiled knowingly. Rose blushed but turned to her plate.

"I'm starving," she said to change the subject.

"See, I knew you were watching him," Jasmine said proudly.

"No I was not."

"Then what were you doing?"

"I, I was, I was observing him."

"No, you were watching him. You like him." Jasmine replied indignantly.

"Fine," said Rose, "I was watching him but so what that does not mean I like him. He's a scornful, hateful, pure blood Slytherin-"

"Yeah, I get where you're going, but you like him," said Jasmine unrelentingly.

"Fine," Rose sighed then she reached over and grabbed Jasmine's arm, "But don't you dare tell anyone otherwise I'll tell Albus you like him."

The coco colored girls skin turned pale.

"Fine," she agreed.

"Now let's eat," Rose said excitedly as she dug into her favorite meal of the year.

Jasmine laughed at her friend's excitement.

Scorpius's POV:

Scorpius looked over at the red headed girl digging vigorously into her meal. Her glowing hair cast shadows on one side of her face making it even more striking. She eat quickly devouring a plate full of food and filling it again in the time he ate one. There was just something about Rose that made her so much more interesting that all other girls. No it was not just her outside appearance as sexy and pretty as she may be it was something about her spark and her fire that made him attracted to her. Wait a second Scorp, he thought, back up, you are attracted to her. He could not believe he admitted that to himself.

"Hey, mate" Albus said waving his hand in front of Scorpius's face, "You okay you were staring at someone," Albus pause and followed his gaze, "You were staring at my cousin. What the fuck? Why are you looking at Rose?"

"I wasn't looking at her," he said, his normally pale cheeks stained a faint pink.

"If you were not looking at her then why are you embarrassed?"

"I was not looking at her!" Scorpius raised his voice.

"Calm down," said Albus glancing around, "People are looking at you."

Scorpius lowered his voice and repeated himself.

"I was not looking at her."

"Yeah you were. I was watching you for while, you were totally checking her out."

"Albus we never get along. It would never work."

"What mate?"

"Me and her."

"I knew it, you were checking her out."

"Fine, but let's move past that."

"What do you mean you and her won't work. Your more alike than possible."

"No we are not. She does not even ride a broom."

"Have you ever asked?"

"Of course not? We don't talk about everyday things like normal people."

"Well maybe you should ask her sometime, but don't bring me up, I didn't mention the whole broom thing."

"Fine and you won't tell her I like her."

"Deal," they agreed.

"Alright," said Albus, "I got to go get Firewisky why don't you go scope out the room.

Scorpius mulled this conversation over in his head while he walked looking for the room of requirement. So he should ask Rose about flying and don't mention Albus. He wondered what that was about, there obviously was something. It seemed that there was a lot he didn't know about Rose.

Finally he saw a doorway. He pulled open the door. Perfect the room worked like always. It provided the perfect party room. I had bar height tables scattered along the edges of the room along with comfy armchairs and couches in the corners with small fireplaces. Cool star lights were suspended in the air not unlike the candles in the Great Hall. He heard the door creak open and saw Albus stagger in under the weight of three crates full of Firewisky.

The two placed the bottles around on the tables and left the room. They walked back to their common room. They told the password to the painting and walked in. Scorpius nodded to Albus and Albus pulled out his wand. Al pointed his wand at the wall in the center of the common room and jabbed is wand at it words appeared on it. Scorpius read the words to himself. _Party Tonight Let's Have Fun!_

"Real original Al," Scorpius said sarcastically.

"Well it gets the message across," Albus replied logically.

Already the word was spreading and the people in the common room were trickling out. Scorpius looked once more at the words and smiled.

"Oh and by the way, the words are on the walls of all the common rooms." Albus said.

"Smart," he smirked, "Let's go, I don't want to miss much."

"Already in the party mood I see."

"Yup," Scorpius smiled, "It's good to be back."

"I don't know if your going to be saying that tomorrow morning so go easy on the drinking."

"You worry too much my friend," said Scorpius before he pushed open the door to the Room of Requirement, "I brewed us a stock of hangover potions this summer."

"That's a relief," Albus smiled.

"Let's get this party started!" Scorpius yelled as he pushed open the doors.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Chapter 4**

Rose's POV:

A door banging open, a flash of blonde hair, someone screaming, the roar of multiple people screaming back. That was all Rose could comprehend. Damn, she was smashed. She scanned the room with Jasmine at her side. Dark brooding guy in the corner, party guy in the middle of the floor, shy but cute guy just standing on the side. She considered all her options for a moment until she zeroed in on her target. This guy stood with his back to her. Blond hair, broad shoulders, cute butt. Then he turned, oh shit, Scorpius. Why did this always happen to Rose? She'll get a glimpse of a cute guy, but it always turns out to be her cousins best friend. Hey maybe one of these times she'll let it go that it's _him_ and just have some fun, like tonight. She smiled and started to push her way through the crowd towards him. Yum, she was going to have some fun tonight. Then suddenly a hand clamped down on her arm holding her back.

"Rose, where are you going?" said a perfectly sober Jasmine.

"Umm over there to have some fun," she giggled stupidly at the prospect.

"And with who are you going to 'have some fun' with?" asked Jasmine.

"The blondie," she jerked her head in Scorpius's direction.

"The same guy we were talking about during the feast earlier?"

"Yeah."

"Rose, you really like him don't just screw things up because of a stupid party."

Rose sighed on the inside. Jasmine, why did she always have to be so logical? She seemed to know Rose's exact needs when even Rose didn't know them.

"Fine, I won't have any fun tonight," she paused, "With him at least."

"Okay Rose it's your choice just find me later when you want to go, I'm going to go sit down."

Rose walked over to one of her original choices. She decided to just go with some good natured fun and walked toward the party boy right in the thick of it. He was taller than her and had simple brown eyes and brown hair. Nothing memorable, Rose thought. She walked up to him people surrounded them moving and gyrating to the music.

"Hey," she said huskily, "Wanna dance?"

Without waiting for an answer she plastered himself to him. All parts of their bodies touched and their clothes rubbed together. She ground her pelvis into his liking the feeling of him growing hard. The boy panted in her ear and she felt her own breathing quicken.

"Let's get out of here," she muttered into his neck. They stumbled out of the room of requirement and into a broom closet down the hall. He pressed her against the side of the closet and his mouth met with hers hard. His hands felt along her waist making their way up to her breasts. Rose moaned, the boy cupped his hands on her boobs and massaged them gently. She moaned even louder. She could feel the boys arousal pushing against his pants and against her legs. Maybe her drunkenness was starting to wear off but she suddenly she was disgusted. This boy was an awful kisser his tong lolled with inexperienced in her mouth and his hands fumbled when he tried to take her bra off. She winced as his rough fingers pinched her back in another attempt to take her bra off. She pushed him away and he stumbled. She straightened herself out and left the broom closet disgusted. That boy was awful and she wondered why she went to the party to begin with.

She walked back into the party to find Jasmine. The room was crowded with people and the smell of alcohol wafted throughout. She waded through the throngs of people until she reached the couches in one corner of the room where her friend sat among a group of people drinking sodas and playing exploding snap.

Rose reached down and gripped her friend's shoulder. Jasmine looked up and smiled.

"I'm leaving," Rose said.

"Okay," Jasmine replied, "I'm going to stay a bit longer. Just to finish the game."

"Alright, I'm not going to sleep right away I want to go out on the pitch tonight."

"Sounds good, see you later."

Rose left the party room and let the silence of the hallway engulf her. She walked down the empty hallway listening her her footsteps echoing off the walls and ceiling. She walked through the passage that Albus and James had fixed up from the collapse years ago while their grandparents had been at Hogwarts.

She admired their handiwork. The dirt walls were packed tightly with stones embedded in them. Some of the stones glowed causing a blue light to issue down the corridor. They created just enough light to make Rose able to walk on the rough dirt floor.

Finally she came to the end of the passage and walked out of the Shrieking Shack. She trudged across the damp green grass towards the Quiditch pitch. The lush green grass was wet and it was chilly out causing her feet to become cold. She walked to the small shack on the side of the pitch and unlocked it with the password Headmistress McGonagall had given her. She pulled open the creaky doors and found her broom and gear.

Her gear consisted of the a broom and a golden snitch. She had bought the broom herself last summer when her parents had been gone for the weekend. She had gone out of the house and bought the Infinitus 2000. It was the newest broom at the time and the best. Rose had considered going out and buying the newer version but she had become attached to the 2000 version. She looked lovingly at the simple broom. It had a silver metal handle with cushioning and warming charms on it. The tail was a shocking bright blue and tapered off aerodynamically.

The snitch she had also bought herself the same weekend that she bought her broom. It was a training snitch made for experienced Seekers. It was clear with only a tiny tip of gold at the end of each wing. Since it was clear it made it extremely hard to find. This particular snitch also flew a lot faster than the regulation one used in games.

She had trained hard all last year making herself the best Seeker she could be and this year she planed to perfect it. She not only wanted to play the game and get on a team, she loved flying more than anything in the world, more that she could describe. There was something about it but the feeling she could almost describe. The feeling it closest to was the wind through your hair. It was refreshing, thrilling, warm and cold all at the same time. Rose's whole body trembled in excitement as she mounted her broom for the first time since last school year.

Scorpius's POV:

Scorpius stood glumly next to Albus towards the edge of the party near the door. He was not feeling it tonight. He had watched Rose dance provocatively with a 4th year Hufflepuff and then leave the party toting him at her side. It made him sad to see the fiery redhead leave the party with a such a simpleton.

"This bombs and I'm tired," Scorpius leaned over and muttered in Albus's ear, "I'm leaving and going in for the night."

"Okay," Albus said back, "I'm done drinking for the night so maybe I'll go play Exploding Snap with Jasmine."

" 'Night,"

Scorpius left the party letting the door fall shut heavily behind him. He was walking towards his dormitory when Rose walked out of a broom closet completely composed. Scorpius hurriedly tucked himself in a niche in the wall. Scorpius followed her with her eyes as she walked down the hall and ducked into the party. He sighed and slid down the wall and sat. He was surprised when the door opened again and Rose walked out. He didn't move so she would not realize his presence. She walked unassumingly down the hall and walked into a passage Scorpius knew about from Albus. It came out at the Shrieking Shack. He waited a few minutes and then entered the passage himself. He hurried along not wanting to lose Rose's trail. He came to the end and saw footprints pressed into the dewy grass. He followed them keeping an eye out for Rose. He paused near the edge of the Quiditch pitch. He saw Rose walk over to a small shack at the edge of the field where people stored their own personal equipment. Rose opened it and Scorpius squinted in order to see what she pulled out over the broad expanse of the pitch.

She was pulling out a broom. Last years model of the Infinitus. It was obviously well worn. The handle scratched from plenty of use. He looked carefully at the second thing she pulled out. Scorpius gasped quietly at the object in her hand. It was the hardest training snitch in the world. He highly doubted she could catch it seeing as it was created for professional Quiditch players to practice with.

He watched in surprise as Rose mounted the broom expertly and let the Snitch go. She flew down low lazily for a minute or two almost letting her toes drag in the damp night grass. The suddenly she rocketing upwards in a tight spiral her body molded to the broom and for a moment he thought Rose and the broom were one. She flattened out after her steep climb up into the night sky but she still kept her body plastered to the broom. Abruptly she flipped backwards and did a loop-de-loop with only one hand on her broom. Scorpius's eyes widened nervously, afraid she'd fall off, but her back arched into the spin and when she was horizontal to the ground again he saw a happy smiled on her face. He looked and saw she was still holding her broom with one hand and the other was closed tightly around a small object that could only be the Snitch. No way, Scorpius thought to himself. She had not only produced a move that he had never seen before in her life but she had caught the hardest training Snitch in the world in record time.

She was so good Scorpius could not take his eyes off her. Her red hair was mesmerizing as if flowed through the night air. Her creamy skin glowed in the moonlight. Her long limbs looked gracefully draped over the broom. The flying looked effortless even though Scorpius knew it must be taking extreme amounts of effort on Rose's part.

Scorpius watched as she caught the snitch again. She was hovering in the starry night on a silver and blue broom. She apparently caught a glimpse of the snitch because she accelerated forward then at the last minute she let go of her broom with both hands and hung upside down by her legs. One of her hands grasped the invisible Snitch and she swung back up onto her broom.

As she started descending to the ground Scorpius hurried away sad to have to stop watching. She was mesmerizing and he had never seen anyone fly like that before. He hurried through the passage and back into the castle. The halls were dark and silent. It was almost three in the morning now so the party would be over. He hurried into his common room and up the stairs and into the dormitory. He crashed onto his bed tiredly and thought about the first day of school.

He thought over Roses flying and what Albus had said to him. Now he understood why Albus wanted him to ask Rose about flying. What he could not understand was why she kept it a secret. She was so bloody amazing. He fell asleep with pictures of Rose flying in his thoughts.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Chapter 5**

Rose's POV:

Rose glanced up from her steaming chicken breast and green peas supper to find Scorpius Malfoy's hawk like gaze once again settled upon her. Rose could not help but notice that Malfoy had been watching her more often over the past few weeks than he ever had before. When she walked to classes she could feel his eyes on her back and when she ate she would look up and notice him watching her. He would glace away immediately but she would always catch the tail end of his piercing steel blue eyes. She thought about asking Albus about it but she did not want to draw attention to it.

Rose finished her dinner and stood up. She had eaten quickly tonight in order to get some good time in on the Quiditch pitch. Even when she was on her broom lately she had the feeling that she was being watched by Malfoy which she knew was impossible because she made sure no one followed her or had seen her fly.

"Hey, I'm going now," Rose leaned down to whisper in Jasmine's ear.

"Okay, see you later," Jasmine replied without looking up from her delicious supper.

Rose walked out of the dining hall getting lost in the stream of people leaving. As she walked through the doors she glanced back and once again found grey-blue eyes watching her. Rose turned quickly, her uniform skirt swishing on her thighs, and her shoes clicked as she walked away.

Finally after a long day she was up in the air again. She balanced skillfully on her broom about fifty feet in the air and let go with both hands to free her long curly red hair free from its elastic. Air flowed through her thick hair as she shook it out letting it cascade down her back in a waterfall of red.

Rose released the tiny clear training snitch and watched as it disappeared into the darkening evening. There was still a small amount of light out because the very top of the some peaked out over the edge of the horizon. She inhaled deeply enjoying the crisp fall smell, she turned in the opposite direction and set off to find the snitch.

Rose molded her lithe body to the handle of her broom as she spiraled tightly toward the ground at a ninety degree angle. She pulled the handle up sharply with great force not two feet from the ground. She winced slightly feeling the muscles in her shoulder complain as it was being warmed up in this first move. Her gloved hand encased in green dragonhide gloves encased the almost invisible snitch.

She loved the feeling of having something encased in her grasp and trying to get out, it gave her a sense of power. She felt accomplished and powerful having something so small yet so hard to grasp with in her own hand.

While she felt the thrill of the capture she loved more the freedom of flying. It was the only time she could be herself. She could let go and be free. Speaking of free, Rose released the snitch again and sat hovering giving it a moment's head start. She shot off into the night.

The moon was out now which cast shadows on the pitch but lit up the sky. She soared in the cool night keeping a sharp eye out. There, she saw a flash of movement where there should not be one and she shot off towards it. Her insides trembled at the adrenalin of the chase. When she realized the path of the she became even more excited, the set up was perfect, she could try a new move she had made up.

Rose slowly stood up on her broom. She was about four hundred feet above the ground, she balanced carefully as she walked cat-like down the the very tip of the handle. Then she jumped, the handle of the broom shot downward and then curved up higher. Rose did a back flip through the air, closed her hand around the clear snitches sphere shape and landed sitting sideways on her broom.

Rose laughed out loud at the delight of her new move. She had planed and made the move up about a month ago and her first attempt could not have gone better. She smiled joyfully and straddled her broom once again.

Rose flew down to the grass and walked over to the shed to put her stuff away. She had ended her practice shorter than usual because she had wanted to end on a good note. She pulled a towel she had brought with her in her bag and wiped her glistening face. She took a huge swig of water and gulped it down loudly. Rose carefully placed her gloves in her bag along with her practice snitch and zipped it up. She walked briskly through the woods to the Shrieking Shack where the passage back to the castle was.

As she was walking she heard a crack, Rose stopped and pulled out her wand.

"Revelio," Rose said quietly not wanting to give herself away.

A small light issued from behind a tree not far from her right. She walked quietly with her wand out and walked around the tree.

"Stupify!" Rose cried loudly.

A tall body fell face down with thud. She looked at the blond hair glistening in the moonlight on the back of the person's head and she did not even have to turn the person over to tell who it was. She did so anyway and was not surprised to see the handsome face of Scorpius Malfoy. She wondered if he had seen her flying. Her guess was probably because she could have sworn she felt some one watching her the past week. It must have been him. She smirked at his blank face and wondered what his explanation would be for watching her fly at night. She pointed her wand humorously at him.

"Enervate."

Scorpius's POV:

Scorpius inhaled with a gasp and looked up to see pool blue eyes looking at him mere inches from his own. They eyes drew back and he could see now that ivory skin and red hair framed Rose's shockingly blue eyes.

Scorpius tried to recall what had happened in the last few moments.

_He walked quietly through the dark shadowy woods following Rose after her Quiditch practice. She had ended it sooner that she usually had surprising him and he hurried into the shadows behind the red head. Shit! He stepped on a stick and it cracked loudly. Quickly, making as little noise as possible he ducked behind a tree and squeezed his eyes tight hopping she did not notice the loud crack. The woods was silent except for the small rustling of nightlife and the cooing of owls. Then suddenly a red light issued toward him. As it hit him he could feel himself slumping against the tree and then everything went black._

The damn redhead was laughing at him mockingly and the happy laughter issued through the dark woods and was absorbed by the night. Scorpius glared at Rose and sat up rubbing his head, he guessed he had hit it on something when she had stunned him.

"Was it really necessary to stun me?" Scorpius asked annoyed.

"Yeah, creep. You were walking behind me in the woods what did you expect," Rose said saucily.

"Well I don't know, not a stunning spell," Scorpius said scathingly.

"Why were you following me?" Rose demanded.

"Well," he paused not sure what to say next, "I was walking back from the Quiditch pitch, I go there every night to think."

"Scorpius Malfoy thinking! That's rich!" Rose said laughing hysterically.

"Well I do think about things even if you don't think so. What are you doing in the woods at night Weasley?" Scorpius said spinning the question back on her, he was interested in her response.

"Well... well I was... I was-"

"Weasley! Spit it out! I don't think you'll surprise me."

"I was flying," Rose spit out.

"Well, Weasley you didn't surprise me there," Scorpius smiled, "I have seen you fly before-"

"I knew someone was watching me! I felt it and you have been watching me more than usual during school too! You're such a creep, following a girl through the dark woods every night, watching her fly, and then watching her during the day!" Rose ranted at him then she turned to go. Scorpius reached out quickly and grabbed her arm tightly.

"Wait, I'm sorry I should have said something it just seemed that you're flying was something you wanted to be private," Scorpius said softly.

"Why you would you assume that?" Rose replied indignantly.

"Well, let's see, you practice at night with no coach or friend and you sneak in and out of the castle through a secret passage. I don't know what lead me to believe that you wanted this to stay private." Scorpius responded sarcastically.

"Hey, hey, don't get all grumpy again, for a moment there I almost thought you were being nice to me so don't stop now. You're right no one knows about my flying and I do want to keep it that way-"

"But your an amazing flier! Any team would sign you instantly and your team would win the Quiditch cup if you played."

"Thanks, that's really reassuring. No one's ever seen me fly. It's nice to know that someone thinks I'm because my parents don't believe in me, they don't think I can do it, they think I am throwing my life away. They mean a lot to me but at this point, I don't want to listen anymore. They don't understand me, no one does, not Al, not Jas, but maybe one day someone will."

"Umm okay this conversation turned really awkward considering we are not even friends and you just told me your innermost thoughts, but here's where I surprise you and say maybe someone will surprise you because they do understand you you just don't realize it. Hey, while we're on the topic of feelings do you maybe... I don't know..."

"Just say what you're going to say already because at this point this night can't really get any more unusual."

"As I was saying, let's be friends!"

A loud silence echoed through the woods as Rose thought this over. Suddenly her face lit up in a bright smile.

"I'd really like that. I think you and I could get along famously if we tried. Goodness know Albus will be happy that we're not arguing all the time."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Chapter 6**

_Aww crap what have I done?_ Rose thought as she sat up in bed the next morning, _the sane you would have never said yes to being friends. He's a Slytherin he always has a hidden motive. Now Rose be cautious._

With her thoughts buzzing she got out of bed and pulled on her cloths. She groaned when she bent down to pull on her socks, she was sore from the intense training she had been doing this week. Rose groaned again as she stretched her long arms across her bed to reach the clean shirt on the floor. She heard rustling in the bed next to her and she turned to look at the bed next to her and saw Jasmine sitting up in bed with her crazy chocolate hair fanned out from around her face. Rose burst out laughing at the ridiculous hair her friend was sporting.

"Will you shut the fuck up!" Jasmine said angrily, "I know my hair looks like a frazzled ducks butt! You don't have to laugh at it! Anyway why were you moaning so loudly anyway?"

_Shit!_ Rose thought,_ I can't tell her about quiditch, come on think Rose, think of an excuse._

"Well, ummm," Rose said stalling, "I kind of tripped on the stairs yesterday." Rose tried to look sheepish.

"Well that's no surprise," Jasmine said.

"Shut up," Rose said smiling, "It's not my fault I can't walk up stairs. I'm working on it."

"Yeah and that's working so well," Jasmine said sarcastically.

"Okay let's go to breakfast," Rose relied, ignoring the dig at her walking habits on stairs just happy that Jasmine had bought the lie. Rose smiled to herself while they walked to breakfast.

Just before they entered the hall Jasmine grabbed her arm and ducked into a small alcove. Rose let out a small shriek but Jasmine clamped her hand over Rose's mouth.

"Why," Jasmine whispered while pointing accusingly, "are you so happy?"

"Well you see," Rose whispered back, "You know Scorpius."

"Yes I know him. We talk to him everyday."

"Well we are friends now."

"What the fuck! When did that happen?"

"Last night, I saw him after the party."

"And how did the two of _you_ come to that agreement."

"Well, that's kind of a long story that can wait until after breakfast," Rose said hurriedly and yanked her arm back and ran into the hall. She heard Jasmine's angry footsteps following her and she walked quickly towards Al and Scorpius. Rose made a pleading face at the two boys sitting at the table. Albus looked down quickly avoiding her eyes knowing better than to help her if Jasmine was involved. Rose didn't blame him, Jasmine was terrifying when she was angry.

Rose plopped down onto the bench next to Scorpius, if Albus was not going to help her then she needed support from him and that was what friends were for, right? She and him were in this together.

Rose looked at Albus and frowned at him, angry for not helping her. When she looked at his face she realized it showed surprise. Rose guessed Scorpius had not told Al about their change in relationship.

The table shook violently as Jasmine sat down and banged her fist on the table demanding Rose's attention. Rose looked at Scorpius and he furrowed his brow at her. He sighed as he realized she needed his help.

"So Rose," Jasmine said fake nicely, "How did you and Scorpius become 'friends' as you call it, because we all know that kind of change does not happen overnight."

"Yeah," said Albus chiming in, "How does that work?"

"Albus," Rose said angrily, "Don't you get involved!"

"Not get involved! You're my cousin and he's my best friend."

"Fine you really want to know?"

"Yes I do really want to know!"

"Al that was a rhetorical question."

"Oh"

There was a pause of silence.

"We became friends because we thought it would be easier on you," Rose said softly, "Isn't that right Scorpius." Rose jammed her elbow into his side.

"Umghf," Scorpius grunted, "Yeah that's right. We felt bad for you."

Albus softened from the compliments and he smiled.

"Hey that might work on him but it does not work on me," said Jasmine sternly.

"I did it for you sake too for when you and-" a sharp pain shot up Roses leg.

"Okay," Jasmine said, "I understand now."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" said Albus, "She didn't answer the question."

"Well it worked for me. I got my satisfaction and you got yours, happy."

"Yup."

"Okay, glad we are done with that," Rose said, "I want to eat."

Rose filled her plate with a large breakfast and got ready to eat. Strawberries with sugar, pancakes with maple syrup, bacon, a bagel with butter, toast with jam and finally a large side dish of eggs. Rose glanced at Scorpius and then back at her food and then back up again to study the blondes face.

Scorpius's POV

Scorpius sat there with his mouth gaping open at the sheer amount of food Rose was going to consume.

"What?" Rose said, "Is there a problem?"

"No," Scorpius said slowly, "I'm just surprised that a skinny girl like yourself can ingest all that food."

"Are you dancing around the subject that I eat way too much for a girl."

"Yes-"

"Hey that's not very nice-"

"I didn't get to finish."

"Oh."

"As I was saying. Yes, you eat way too much for the average girl but it's a good thing because those supper thin girls who don't eat anything and have that annoying whiny complaining voice, 'Oh I'm soooo hungry' "

Rose burst into laughter at Scorpius's falsetto voice and leaned into whisper in his ear.

"Tonight, eight, quiditch pitch, you can come watch if you want, make sure no one follows."

Her warm breath tickled his ear. Scorpius nodded happily and got up to leave to go to class. Rose's arm snaked out from underneath the table and grabbed his. He waited patiently as she gathered her things and they walked to their first class of the day.

The rest of the day was a blur for Scorpius he could not wait to see Rose fly again tonight. The professor's words sounded like the mumbling of a crowd and his books looked like they were written in Japanese.

Scorpius dawdled through his homework in the library. While they were still in the first week of school the homework load was light. Scorpius flipped through an old potions book while Albus fooled around with a Muggle toy called a Toe-Toe or maybe it was a Yo-Yo, he was unsure.

Finally when Scorpius looked at the clock it was seven-fifty. Not wanting to miss a minute of Rose's performance Scorpius scrambled to put away his books and papers in his bag. Albus looked up as he left but did not question his leaving. Scorpius dropped his bag off in his dormitory and rushed outside and down to the Quiditch pitch, checking over his shoulder every now and then to make sure that he was not followed.

The sun was just reaching the horizon and it looked like a smoldering ember. Scorpius sat down on the dampening grass as he watched Rose pull out her broom from the storage shed. Even while she was preparing to practice he could tell that she moved with an athletes grace.

Once Rose had pulled on her green dragonhide gloves and released the snitch Scorpius watched as she pushed off. He once again marveled at the beauty that Rose could not seem to see in herself. Her creamy skin seemed iridescent in the sunset and her usually shiny red hair seemed to glow. A small smile played on her lips, crinkling her nose and causing small dimples in her cheeks.

Scorpius studied her practicing. She was just releasing the snitch for the fifth time tonight and it had only been about ten minutes. The snitch she used was invisible to him but clearly not to her. He watched as her vibrant blue broom became a streak in the sky high up above the horizon.

As Rose finished her practice Scorpius picked himself up of the wet ground. His back, legs and butt were damp from lying on his back to watch Rose practice. Rose was peeling off her gloves now and placing her practice snitch in a locked box. Scorpius tapped the door of the shed alerting her that he was close by.

"Rose?"

"Mmm"

"Why don't you try out for the school team. I know I should not be saying this and all because I'll be playing against you but your really good and in order to show people you can play and show your parents you can do this without their help you need to play. People looking for professional seekers for their teams are not going to look for someone who's never played the game."

"Yeah you're right. I need to prove my self. I'm going to try out for the Gryffindor Quiditch team."

"Good."

"And I'm going to beat the crap out of you while doing it!"

_Ahh Rose she'll never change,_ Scorpius thought.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Chapter 7**

Rose lay in bed exhausted from quiditch practice last night. Tryouts were today. Why did she ever let Scorpius convince her that she should tryout? She never was a team player. She never stuck around long enough to make any bonds with anyone. She had never had a boyfriend only one night make out sessions. Despite her reputation as a complete slut and party girl she was still a virgin. Rose sighed once more and climbed out of bed.

As Rose stood beside her bed she looked over at Jasmine's sleeping form. Her best friends features looked relaxed and stress free. The reason she had not wanted to tell her best friend about Scorpius's discovery of her quiditch is because she felt her friend would berate her about him knowing and how she kind of liked him. Also Jasmine did know about how she was going to drop out of school next year and so she did not want her friend to worry about her commitment to quiditch and how they might lose even more time together.

Rose pulled on her clothes in a sloppy manner. He skirt skewed slightly to one side while her shirts sleeve slipped off her shoulder and her shoes were unbuckled. She gathered her hair back into a ponytail and smoothed away the whispy's which were gathered at the edge of her hairline.

Rose looked at herself in the mirror. She saw she disheveled appearance so she yanked her shirt into its correct position, in doing so the force she applied ripped a few buttons. She threw on a pale yellow cami and let the shirt be unbuttoned save for one button at her stomach. Next, she adjusted her awry skirt until it sat primly on her hips. Finally she buckled her deep red shoes. Satisfied she rushed out of the room with her heels clicking loudly on the floor causing her friend to wake up and moan as Rose left for breakfast.

Rose walked at a determined pace down the hall looking forward to eating before rushing off to charms. She was listening to the sound of her shoes clacking echoing off the wall when a person darted out from a cranny in the wall causing her to hit them and they both fell to the floor.

Rose felt her body being pressed into the other person's, her boobs were smashed up against the other person's hard chest causing them to spill out of the front of her shirt. Her cheek was resting on the other unidentified persons neck while that person's chin rested on her head. Rose looked at the person she fell on. Scorpius, his steel grey-blue eyes twinkled amusedly at her. Their bodies were molded together, no space between them, complete contact. Rose put her hands on his solid chest and pushed herself off of him. She brushed herself off and fixed her mussed clothing.

"Ugh," Rose said frustratedly, " Was that necessary?"

"Was what necessary?" Scorpius asked innocently.

"Walking in front of me and causing us both to fall down!"

"Hey, if you had stopped then we never would have fallen down!"

"Hmph, well what do you want?"

"Umm, who said I wanted anything. Maybe I just wanted to walk to breakfast with you."

"Yah, I highly doubt that."

"Well that's all I really wanted so let's go."

He grabbed her arm and linked them together. She struggled against his but gave up when she found it was futile. His grip was surprisingly strong with rough calluses on his fingertips which rubbed her skin. She looked down at his hands expected them to be huge and meaty but they were the exact opposite. Scorpius's hands were long, elegant and thin with absolutely no scars, cuts or bruises.

"Let go of me," Rose complained.

"You'll be fine we're almost there. Relax and maybe it will hurt less. Accept what you have." Scorpius replied calmly.

"Umm why do you sound like you're giving me life advice all of a sudden."

Scorpius smirked, "It fit with the situation perfectly."

"Prat!" Rose said as she smacked him gently on the cheek, despite her actions she was smiling.

"See even you find my humor hilariously funny."

By the time the conversation finished, they had reached the table where Albus sat and Rose had almost forgotten the incident in the corridor. Rose could not wait to tell Albus that she was going to tryout for the team. She could feel a smile lighting up her features as she sat down.

"Okay what's going on here? You walking arm in arm with Scorpius you _flirt_ all the way over and your smiling and looking excited to see me. Did someone slip you a potion?" Albus questioned jokingly.

"Uhhh, no but Scorpius convinced me last night that I should tryout for my house's team!" Rose exclaimed excitedly.

Albus turned to Scorpius, "You do realize you just signed away any possibility of our house being able to win the Quiditch Cup right?"

"Yes."

"And you're okay with that?"

Scorpius looked at Rose and then back at Albus, "Yes."

Albus laughed at the two sitting across from him. Rose looked at him strangely. What was making this boy laugh? When Albus notice the small furrow in Rose's brow he laughed even more.

Rose stood up slowly, "Okay I'm going to go now so Albus you can keep laughing at whatever you're laughing at and Scorpius I'll see you later."

Rose walked away with her shoes clicking loudly on the hard floor. She headed to the Gryffindor table where Jasmine sat. She was a little nervous about telling her friend about her try out and her possible new commitment but she needed to do it now because if she didn't then there would be worse consequences later.

Scorpius's POV:

Scorpius watched as Rose pranced away to the Gryffindor table. His eyes followed her strong but elegant legs one of which had a small bruise peaking out from under her skirt probably because of her most recent quiditch practice. What Scorpius did not realize was Albus's eyes were trained on his face. Only when Rose reached her destination did Scorpius turn his attention back to Albus. His friend sat across the table smirking at him.

"Wow, you really like her you gave up quiditch for her."

"Yes, I really like her now can we move on."

"No, I don't think you understand. You really really like her. Normally you like a girl because of her appearance or social standing or something but Rose is different for you."

"Albus"

"No but really-"

"Albus, I get it I really care about her and as more than a friend!"

"Okay, I'm glad we've clarified this."

"Yeah, now can we not talk about this again. For a really long time maybe."

"Sure... whatever you want..."

Scorpius felt relieved now that that conversation was over. The pair sat in silence chowing down on their large breakfasts. While eating Scorpius ran through his head what he had to do today. He had double charms first and then a bunch of study frees and after lunch he had potions. Overall it was a good day, both of his classes contained his favorite person.

After he finished his breakfast he rushed ahead of Albus to get a seat next to Rose in charms. When he reached the classroom and looked around at the students milling about he realized Rose had not reached the classroom yet. When he looked back at the door he noticed his black haired friend bedraggled and panting. He smiled at Albus charmingly and Al glared right back at him. His glare was cut off by Rose walking in to the frame of his vision.

"Hey Rose," Scorpius called, "Sit with me today so we can strategize for you know..." his voice trailed off suggestively.

"'Kay," Rose called back.

As Scorpius looked back at Albus to apologize for not sitting with him as they had for the past and was surprised by all the weird glances he got because of his conversation with Rose. _Well they obviously haven't gotten the memo yet_,Scorpius thought. Rose however seemed oblivious to the strange looks because she walked straight over to him without hesitation. She sat down next to him and pulled out her Charms book and a bunch of notes. Scorpius looked over at her just in time to see her open her sweet rosebud colored mouth only to shut it again when the professor started talking.

He lifted her hair gently away from her neck and he felt her shiver when his fingertips grazed her long smooth neck. He leaned in and put his mouth so close to her ear his lips brushed it gently. He spoke quietly.

"You excited for later?"  
>"Yeah, mostly."<p>

"What nervous."

"Never"

"Then what?"

"Mad?"

"What for?"  
>"Not doing it sooner and letting you convince me."<p>

"Aww, Rosie thinks I made a good decision."

"Don't call me Rosie."

"Okay Jane."

"Hey, Hyperion don't call me by my middle name."

"Don't fucking call me by mine then."

He pulled away and smiled at her laughing face.

"Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley," their Professor said loudly, "What did I just say?"

"That we were partners for the next project," Scorpius said with a sweet smile on his face, "And it's an independent project. Also-"

"No, no, no that's not what I said at all Mr. Malfoy."

"But sir it was, you said, that we were partners for the next project and it's an independent project."

"Ah very good, so you do listen after all."

"I do listen sir."

When the professor looked away Scorpius smirked at Rose. He was proud of that skill to embarrass teachers when they thought he was not paying attention. He flinched when she smacked him lightly on the arm. He laughed lightly under his breath and flinched again when she smacked him once more. The teacher signaled the end of class and the room broke into noise and action, cramming parchments, books, writing implements into their bags ready to go to the next class.

Scorpius grabbed Roses arm as they walked out into the busy hallway. Albus followed behind them with his partner who happened to be Jasmine. The four walked outside into the crisp air of the spacious grounds. Scorpius spoke first.

"Rose you want to practice before the tryouts today?

"Not particularly."

"Why not."

"Because."

"Oh sooo helpful Rose."

"Just get your fucking nose out of it."

"NO! You can't just shut me out-"

"Wow," Albus interjected, "It sounds like you guys are a old married couple."

With that they both turned to him, "Shut the bloody hell up Al!"

"That was scary you two."

They both glared and walked away.

"We sure as hell are not married, old, or a couple," Rose said to Scorpius.

"I wish we were," Scorpius muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said I hope we weren't."

"Oh," Rose said as she ducked her head away from him. Scorpius glance at her face as she tried to hide it but not before he caught a look of her eyes and were surprised that they looked hurt.


	8. Chapter 8

Rose POV:

Tryouts were in thirty minutes and Rose was sitting on the floor in her dormitory next to her bed. She was going over her equipment trying to calm her nerves. Her broom lay across her lap and her broomstick kit sat next to her open. First Rose took the clippers and clipped all bent or broken twigs. Next she took the cloth and polished the metal where the bristles met the stick. She rubbed in circles until the silver shone. After that she took the other cloth and rubbed it over the worn handle until it was glossy. Finally she took her wand and refreshed the cushioning charms. She knew that tryouts would take a while and she did not want to be hindered by sore legs.

In addition to inspecting her broom she looked over her gloves. She made sure all the small rips were mended in the dark green hide and she made sure the buckles were tight so they would not come undone with her sporadic movements in the air.

Rose felt more relaxed after she went through the simple motions of taking care of her equipment. Her hands had stopped shaking so she stood up and walked to her small mirror. She tied back her glistening red strands of hair with a deep red hair tie. She pushed a plain white headband over her forehead to hold the whispy's away. Rose put on her gloves and listened to the quiet snap of the buckles and picked up her broom and she walked out of her room.

Rose was walking through the halls of the castle now towards the pitch. She was oblivious to the strange looks she was receiving because she was so focused on her destination. People were whispering and pointing as she walked. Rose felt someone fall into step next to her. She knew with out looking that is was Scorpius. She felt him his hand wrap around her arm. She glanced at his fingers long and pale. Yup, Scorpius. She felt better now more relaxed knowing the one person who had actually seen her fly before and believed in her was coming with her to the tryouts. They were nearing the pitch and Scorpius stopped pulling her back.

"I'm going to watch from here so I don't get kicked out of watching your tryouts," Scorpius said.

"Sounds good and thanks for walking me here," Rose said softly. She did not want her voice to betray her nerves. She was sure that if she spoke louder her voice would shake. Scorpius let go of her arm and Rose walked the rest of the way to the pitch with out him.

She stood with a group of other Gryffindor's waiting for the captain. The grass of the pitch was emerald green, the sun was low in the sky and cast a glowing golden light into the air. Everything seemed to shimmer. The Captain was walking over to the group.

"Hi everybody thanks for coming to try out. My name's Jack Wood. As you may know my father was Captain Oliver Wood. He was a great Captain and the team did great that year. I would like to try and do as well as my father and so I am going to try and create the best team possible from these tryouts this year. I am looking for one Beater, two Chasers and a Seeker. Previous members of the team and myself take the other spots. In order to best access your abilities I am going to put you through some competitive drills. Just one more thing before I send you off with instructions. I know that some of you have what you think is better equipment than others but you know your equipment better than your opponent does and each broom has it's own faults know yours and use that to your advantage. Now Chasers…."

Rose stopped listening to Jack then and examined the other players. Only two others were wearing gloves that made them Seekers. The girl was tall and thin. Her face looked pale and drawn. Despite her nervous appearance she had top-notch equipment and it was very new and appeared to be unused. Her parents wanted her to play not her Rose decided. She'll be nervous and skittish more likely to be draw in by fakes or sudden dramatic movements. She will probably be fearless, because of her parent's expectations, when the time comes for head to head moves and will do something stupid.

The boy Rose deemed as the true competition. He was shorter than the girl but taller than herself by a few inches. He was slim but had muscles. His equipment was old. Probably his parents last broom before they graduated. She thought it was the original Firebolt but it could possibly be the second model as well considering there was no difference except the acceleration speed. She looked the boy over again. He was excited and so she placed him as a backyard player who played with friends and family. He probably was quite good but his old equipment would hold him back. Rose returned her focus to Jack just in time to hear the Seekers competitive drill.

"Seekers you will be in charge of catching the Snitch three times consecutively. If you don't catch it at least once before the person who catches it three times in a row does then your out. By out I mean your cut from the team. Now that all of you have your drills two laps easy warm up, no racing. I'm watching your flying not your stupidity. And go!" Jack finished with exclamation.

Rose was one of the last people off the ground. The other players zoomed ahead and Rose was worried considering she had never played with other people before. She hoped they would not be a distraction.

She watched all the other players get twisted up in one another, bump each other and frown. Rose flew a little higher and a little behind the group. She wanted to be fully warmed up, free of distractions and bruise free when she landed back in front of Jack. She observed the setting sun. It cast a glowing light on the emerald green pitch. It caught all they player's hairs making it look like they each had a halo. Rose let herself drift and glide with the gentle wind that blew through the autumn leaves. She did a gentle falling leaf patter as she landed a few seconds behind the rest of the people trying out. Her hair was wind blown, her cheeks were probably a faint red and she was bruise free. She felt excited.

"Okay good warm up. Some of you," Jack said looking around at the mostly battered group, "Let's get started, everybody up in the air!"

Rose took off carefully so she was not jostled. She hovered on the far side of the pitch where she could see everybody and everything. Jack had released the quaffle. She watched the chasers zoom away. Next she saw the bludgers had been released. The Beaters were moving now too their clubs raised competitively. Lastly Rose saw the little golden ball being released. She was not going to let it out of her sight for a minute. She was surprised how easy it was to follow it after years of playing in the middle of the night with a altered training snitch. She was glad of all those hard nights she had put in. It made her job easy now.

She planned out her tactics. She knew the other two players had no idea where the snitch was. So she had to be careful that they didn't catch on to her knowing where it was. She needed to get them to think, particularly the boy that she was an amateur. She needed to obviously shadow their moves to get them to think that they knew better than her. In doing so she could drive them away from the snitch until she was in perfect position. Another factor that Rose wanted to keep in mind was the endurance of the players. The boy was probably as fit or fitter than her but the girl would tire easily because she had no practice. Rose wanted to tire her out so if it ever came down to a race then Rose could keep her in check because of her tiredness. Rose planned to make the other two players wait.

Rose was now putting her plan through its motions. The boy had caught on to her shadowing him, the girl however had not. The girl was blindly following the boy as well. Rose didn't need the girl to realized that she was being shadowed she just needed to manipulate the boy and the girl would follow.

In addition to manipulating the players she could also manipulate the snitch. She had found during her evening practices that the snitch could sense when people were close to it and it would move away to evade the player. Rose took her time shifting her position subtly until she was in the perfect spot. The two players were split up one high in the air one low in the air. Rose was in the middle with the snitch parallel to her just 30 meters away. The boy or the girl no matter how fast they went would not be able to catch it. Rose wanted to catch the first snitch unnoticed so that she would not have to show off any major moves. Luckily for her the snitch was positioned so that Rose would have to ride towards the glare of the setting sun. Both players were turned away from the radiant sinking sun to shield their eyes from the blaze. Rose took this opportunity and glided seamlessly forward the short thirty meters to close her glove covered hand around smoldering golden ball.

She flew back to her original place and when the other two seekers looked back at her, checking on her they didn't notice a difference. Rose smiled to herself. Rose waited a few minutes to see if they noticed anything and then flew calmly over to Jack, when they didn't, who was currently hovering watching the Chasers and the Beaters.

"Hey," Rose said quietly not wanting to surprise him, "I caught the snitch what now?"

Jack turned and looked at her. He looked surprised. Rose guessed he hadn't noticed her crafty catch either. Rose watched, as he looked over at the other two seekers who were still flying around the pitch unaware of her catch.

"I didn't notice," Jack said smiling, "And I'm guessing they didn't either?"

"I guess," Rose answered, "I didn't want anyone to. It's easier that way. No competition."

"Your right…" Jacks voice trailed off thoughtfully, "Well I'll call them over so we can restart. John! Stella! Come over please!"

Rose watched as the two turned suddenly and looks of surprise came across their faces as they saw her hovering next to the captain. Rose angled her body away from the two approaching bodies and grinned to herself. As Jack talked to the other two about being more aware of their competition Rose cooked up her next plan.

Rose knew now that the two other players would know that she was a better player than she looked originally. They would be more wary of her especially the boy because he, if Rose had read him right, was typically a very acute player because of cheating family in his backyard games. The girl however would not become like this and would only be focused on what Jack had said and would want to go as fast as she could to catch the snitch first. So this time it would be a race of Rose's knowledge and skill against the girls equipment. Rose thought about the broom the girl, Stella, was using.

Rose knew that it was the newest version of the Infinitus. Rose thought about how Jack had made the speech on knowing your broom. Rose knew her broom and she knew Stella's. Rose had the Infinitus 2000 while Stella had the Infinitus 2001. The only difference was the acceleration speed, the top speed and the minor defect that had kept Rose from buying the Infinitus 2001. When Stella's broom accelerates to full speed the boom would buck causing an inexperienced rider to loose control of the broom. Rose would want to force Stella to accelerate full speed downwards to she would loose control close to the ground and not get seriously injured. She knew in doing so John would be left behind because of his older broom's slower speed.

"I'm letting go in three… two… one…" Jack called up. Rose shot downward along with Stella leaving John behind in a turbulent wind. Rose spiraled earthward on Stella's tail accomplishing her goal of having the other girl go full speed. They were nearing twenty feet above ground, ten, five, two. Stella's broom was out of her control and Stella corkscrewed into the grassy pitch headlong. Rose pulled out quickly before she met with the earth. Her knees dragged along the ground as she still was shooting forward, parallel with the grass now, towards the snitch just two feet away. She captured it and turned back towards where Stella had crashed.

The poor girls broom was embedded in the cold ground and she was lying a few feet away. Rose turned Stella over on to her back. Her skin was pale, marred with scratches and dirt, her eyes were shut and she had an obviously broken nose. Rose looked at the girls bedraggled body. Rose was still in shock on how fast every thing had happened. The snitch had left Jacks hand only seconds before and the short flight both girls had ended abruptly.

"I'm sorry that you got hurt. I knew you were but I want to get this position so badly. Plus, it's what a real seeker would do. Also you don't really want this, your parents want this. Now that your injured you have a real excuse not to play," Rose whispered remorsefully to the girl.

"Hey, she okay?" Jack said quietly surprising Rose; she had not heard him come up behind her.

"She'll be fine," Rose replied, "Just a concussion and a broken nose, nothing life threatening. I think her tryouts will be over though. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I'll send some one with her to the hospital wing. You were just competing hard," Jack replied, "That was an amazing move, it was a Wronski feint except it was not a feint it was a move, a play, something new, something that no one in Quidditch has done that I have seen. Nice job!"

Hearing that Rose felt reassured that she had done nothing wrong by setting that miserable girl up for injury. She got her head back in the game while Jack figured out how to get the unconscious Stella up to the hospital wing. She knew that the third catch would be tougher than that one. They both would not just go at it like she and Stella just did, it would be a game of wits, patients, and pure unadulterated skill. Rose had all three. She had seen more backyard Quidditch matches than probably anyone including the boy John, who she still had pegged as a backyard Quidditch player that gave them equal wit. She could not assume his patient but she knew she had plenty considering she did not even share what she called her talent until today. As to pure, unadulterated skill this was putting it to the test and she was ready.

Rose came out of her thoughts and saw Jack walking over to release the third and final snitch. Rose was not going to let that golden ball or John out of her sight until she got the shinning orb in her hand. That ball was her golden ticket to the world of competitive Quidditch.


	9. Chapter 9

Scorpius POV:

Every time Scorpius watched Rose fly he felt that old feeling build back up inside of him. The feeling of passion for talent that you don't learn you have, you are born with it, you breath it, you feel it. He had that except it was taken away from him. Those feelings had been hidden until watching Rose fly had started them up again.

When he was younger about five or six his mother had been partial to a Muggle instrument called the piano. She learned that some Muggle parents hire teachers for their children so they can learn the instrument. Scorpius's mum decided that he would learn to play the piano. His parents hired the best teacher that money could buy; he was a strict, old, portly, Russian man. Scorpius could still remember how all his teacher's consents sounded like a blender spit them out. The teacher was stricter than anything but had more fervency for the subject of music. That man did not create music he created; passion, fire and magic. He enthralled Scorpius more than anything and the sounds that could be made from a machine have wonderment for music to an immeasurable degree.

Scorpius practiced and practiced trying to make that damn grumpy teacher smile with his music until it almost broke him. He did everything perfect for that teacher until he realized that what his teacher wanted was not perfection was intriguing imperfection created by a performer. He realized that perfection would not interest people it's the fiery passion and interpretations that will affect people.

His teacher gave him a sheet of music, which was called Untitled; it did not have a composer or complicated rhythms or notes. It had simple chords, which could be played entirely with one hand. Scorpius did not practice all week. Usually he killed himself over the piece, practicing until the piece was permanently embedded in his mind. Scorpius swore back then, in his sleep he would see notes of music on the inside of his eyelids.

By the end of the week he was terrified, what if he did this wrong. He some how managed to convince himself that he could not be wrong because it was his interpretation of the piece and no one could change what he thought.

Scorpius sat at the piano to perform for his teacher for the first time. Before he had recited now he would perform. For the first time he was not terrified or nervous. Scorpius let his hands float over the keys. He stroked them and began his performance. Light, fast, airy, slow, angry, sad, mellow, he poured his emotions over the keys and let his heart do the playing. He let go of trying to impress people and did it for himself. By the end of the piece he could not even recall what he had played. He turned to his seemingly every stoic teacher and was shocked to see glistening tears of sadness and joy.

"Boy, you do not need me anymore," he said gruffly, "You have been my best student because I have learned from you. There is nothing left for me to do."

With that short proud statement his piano teacher left the house never to return. Scorpius had watched him leave through the window, still sitting at his piano and had tears run down his face. He did not know why he cried. Perhaps it was because he was happy but it wasn't and he was not happy either.

Feeling that unknown feeling would be strange for a young boy of only six. I would not be something that small person could contain and so he shut the piano lid as soon as his teacher disappeared from view. He was scared and so the piano remained untouched in the living room gathering dust.

What amazed him was how his mother never questioned why he stopped playing or why the teacher never came back. Scorpius could not decide if it was because she was scared to ask or she simply did not care because the piano has just been a routine that had stopped abruptly. The reason why, Scorpius concluded, that Rose brought up those scary unstoppable feelings was because she had probably felt the same thing when she rode a broom for the first time. She was probably just as scared as Scorpius was and he wanted to know what drove her to continue and share her hidden talent. Making something you love obvious in front of the world was more terrifying than almost anything. It made you extremely vulnerable.

Scorpius turned his thoughts away from his helplessness and towards Rose's final test of if she would make the team or not. Scorpius decided right as the snitch was released for the third time that night that if she caught it and made the team he would pick his music back up no matter how scared he was. His thoughts were in turmoil. He wanted her to catch the little golden ball like he knew she could but he was terrified of what he would have to return to.

Rose's POV:

Rose's blue and silver tapered broom blended into the sky making it seem as if she were gliding on gentle winds as she tactfully maneuvered herself for the best position for capturing the snitch. The small golden ball had never left her sight since it had been released. She had observed John long enough to know when he had lost track of it. In the twenty minutes they had been up in the air playing their game of wits he had lost track of it twice, both times when it was closest to him. This was unfortunate for Rose but she could tell that he was getting antsy. John wanted action whether he was in position for it or not. This would work for her advantage. She was gliding low in the sky with the snitch above her and John was flying high in the sky with the snitch below him, however at this point they were both equal distances away. Rose made a bunch of jagged upward movements with the handle of her broom to tease the impatient boy into moving forward to the snitch. When he reacted she shot forward so quickly her body and broom trembled at the sheer force of her action. They flew head-on both unwavering the boy thinking that they would hit but Rose already planning. She reached the snitch first but knew if she grabbed it while she was still on her broom they would collide and she would be injured indefinitely. To avoid that she jumped off her broom, shoving it forward with her arms as she went, dove over the speeding boy, avoiding collision by mere millimeters, grabbed the snitch and summersaulted twice where she then grabbed her broom with her empty hand. She winced as the shock of defying gravity reached her shoulder but gracefully swung herself over the handle and glided to the group.

When she landed she felt extreme exuberance overwhelm her body, pure adrenalin made her tremor with joy. Somehow she managed to contain herself while she waited on the ground for Jack to talk to her. She watched as he flew down swiftly and observed his shocked, amazed, dumbfounded, astonished face.

"Damn," Jack said astonished, "I know I'm not really suppose to swear but that was fucking amazing! Bloody hell I've never seen anything like it! Welcome Rose Weasley, you're now part of the Gryffindor Quidditch team!"

Rose smiled through her silent tears of happiness looking for that blond shock of hair that would stick out against the dusky evening. Scorpius stood by the edge of the Black Lake quite far away, probably because he was not supposed to watch the tryouts. Rose wanted to go see him and tell him the wonderful news but first the tryout would have to end.

They other hopeful flyers were still trying hard for the few spots that were open. Rose stretched her tights muscles and lay on the grass to watch. Every now and then she would glance over at the Black Lake to see a lone figure silhouetted against the setting sun.

"Okay guys!" Jack shouted startling Rose out of her reverie, "We're done. I'll make final decisions tonight and post them tomorrow morning! Good job everybody!"

Tired bodies started plodding off of the field. Rose gathered her stuff and walked behind the rest of the group. She split off soon though and ran towards the Black Lake where she knew Scorpius was. She smiled all the way. His back was to her but he turned around quickly and the sound of her approaching footsteps. Rose tossed her equipment aside. She ran even faster and jumped on him, wrapping her legs around him and hugging him. She buried her face in his shoulder as she cried happy tears. She pulled her face away and smiled.

"I did it," she said almost shocked to be hearing those words out loud, "I made the team!"

"I knew you would, you had nothing to doubt. How about you get off of me and we walk back up. We can go to the kitchens and eat some food!"

Rose skipped happily up to the castle with a surprisingly solemn plodding Scorpius. Even while she was jubilant in reverence as to what had just happened she knew something was seriously wrong. They were inside the warm castle now the warm lights hitting their eyes causing them both to flinch slightly.

"Hey," Rose murmured, "You alright? You seem kind of sad."

"Yes and no," Scorpius replied, "I made a promise to myself that kind of scares the fuck out of me. I've needed to do it for a long time and I said that if you got the spot on the Quidditch team I would go through with what I need to do. It terrifies me more than anything in the world."

"I'm sorry, let me know if you need any help. The only reason I was on that Quidditch pitch today was because you gave me the courage to. So if you need help I can be there for you. Do you want to tell me about it?"

"Not really, it's not because of you that I don't want to say I'm just too scared to say anything at all. Let's eat and celebrate your great achievement tonight! We can worry about me another time!"

The warm kitchen relaxed both of them from the tense and exciting evening. Rose felt herself loosen up and she saw Scorpius's muscles in his back loosen. It was amazing what the thought of good food could do to you.

While they were munching in silence Rose thought about her short conversation with Scorpius about the unknown thing that terrified him more than anything. She had always assumed there was nothing more to him than met the eye but now knowing there was more to him than that made her scarred and worried what would happen to the two of them over time


	10. Chapter 10

Scorpius woke the next morning and groaned. Why had he ever made that stupid promise to himself? And why would he actually tell Rose Weasley of all people? They had always fought constantly and no matter that they were, "friends" because who knew what she was really thinking. There was also the fact that he was vulnerable around her because he was practically in love with her.

Even in his head admitting that still sounded strange. Knowing that he'd do practically anything for her and she might still secretly hate him was so hard. Scary was more like it. However, he had a hard time convincing himself the whole ordeal with Quidditch and everything was all for nothing. Quidditch was Rose's essence and she would not share that with just anyone. Hell, she had not even shown her brother and her best friend.

Thinking about the fact that Rose had not shared her glorious talent with her mother and father surprised him. He had always viewed Hermione and Ron as nice parents. While they may be strict they were also accepting. To him Hermione seemed to value book learning but appreciated people who had raw talent in other things and Ron seemed a generally all around good person with a few demeaning characteristics but Scorpius knew that Ron had an appreciation for all Quidditch players. Having such a talent as Rose's, Scorpius highly doubted, would go with out praise in the Weasley household.

Scorpius decided to skip breakfast today even though he wanted to see Rose and congratulate her again on making the team. The final list would be posted for today and it would be interesting to see the schools reaction to Rose making the team. Scorpius wanted to write to his mum to send over his old music sheets. He wanted to simply see if he could even remember how to play. He highly doubted that he had forgotten but he wanted the drills book so he could warm up his fingers again and relearn anything he had forgotten.

Scorpius climbed the desolate steps of the Owlery. He walked all the way to the back and whistled softly for, his owl. The sooty colored creature landed on a perch nearby and hooted softly back in welcome. Scorpius slid his back down the cool stonewall until he was sitting so he could write his letter.

_Dear Mum_

_Could you please send my old piano drills books and sheet music? It would be greatly appreciated. I think they can be found in the container under the piano bench. I am having a good school year so far and I have made an unexpected friend. I don't think Dad would approve right away but you would. He will find hilarity in it later. Hope you are well._

_- Scorpius_

Anyone else reading his letter would be surprised at the formality of it. His father had always told him that being informal in person was fine but in a letter formality was always better no matter the contents of the letter because you never know what the person reading it might do with it. His father also said never put in writing what you do not care to share with the world.

While his father's advice might be strict sometimes, it was not on all subjects. According to many of his father's friends he is a much better person that he was when he was younger. Scorpius guessed that his father's new friends had something to do with that.

While his father was open about his past his mother was more so, probably because he had regrets about his action and she had regrets only about the beliefs she was taught to believe because she did not act on any. Scorpius suspected that because of this that's why he wrote to his mother rather than his father and also his mother was the one that had signed him up for piano lessens in the first place.

Scorpius did not want to leave the Owelry because he liked the piece and quiet but he knew that he had to go to class soon. He pulled himself up off of the cool, rough stone floor to trudge to his first class of the day.

As soon as Scorpius walked out of the calm lulling atmosphere of the Owelry and back into the halls of students rushing to class he was shocked by the fact that it was louder than normal. Girls were whispering and giggling to each other, while the boys wore more pained looks. Scorpius could only imagine what had caused this sudden change in behaviors. Scorpius searched the crowed for his short dark-haired friend hoping he could explain this madness.

Scorpius watched a the slim boy bobbed and weaved his way though the crowed until he was close enough for Scorpius to snatch his arm and drag him out of the gushing currents of students.

"What in the bloody hell is going on?" Scorpius asked Albus impatiently.

"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing to me? That really hurt!" Albus said back angrily.

"I'm asking you rudely what is going on! Why are girls walking around in little groups giggling at a little joke only they know and why do the guys look scared of that?"

"Um, right mate, you would know if you were at breakfast, but since you weren't then you don't know!"

"Well you're in a right mood this morning!"

"Well you're like this every day!"

"Albus! I get it I am a twat to everybody! Now what in Merlin's name is going on!?"

" Ahh! I never though I would hear you admit that you were a twat out loud." Rose said loudly nearing the two boys.

Scorpius ignored her wanting an answer out of Albus. He looked expectantly at his friend but when he received no answer only a smirk he released his friend's arm and Albus walked away in a huff. Scorpius now turned to look at Rose. Rose was smiling probably from the fact that quidditch results were posted and that he admitted he was a twat. Instead of teasing her for saying something he smiled graciously partially because he did not want to piss off anyone else and partially because he did not want to wipe that gorgeous smile off of her face.

"I was wondering what was going on? I mean why are the guys looking slightly freaked out and the girls so excited?"

"Yeah, where were you at breakfast?"

Scorpius frowned not wanting to reveal where he was in case she question what he had sent to his mother about, "I was at the Owelry. I was sending a letter to my mum."

"Awww, Scorpius Malfoy sending a letter to his mummy! How cute! What did you need new socks?"

"No it was personal. I rather not talk about it."

"Oh," Rose said quietly sensing his change in tone, "The reason people are so riled up is that Professor McGonagall announced a Muggle style black and white masquerade ball."

Scorpius appreciated her straightforward answer and remained quiet.

"Walk to class with me?"

"Sure."

"You okay? I mean you seem kind of quiet and I don't think a temperamental Al could have shaken you that much."

"It's about that promise I made with myself. It's going to be so hard to keep and I'm scared and I don't want to tell anyone what it is if I can't uphold it. I just don't want to be an embarrassment to anyone other than myself. And truth be told Rose, you're my inspiration that maybe one day I'll tell someone. I mean look what you did with your quidditch tryouts! You did not want to share what you had with the world but you did and look how amazing that is! By the way how were the reactions at breakfast?"

Rose's POV:

Rose smiled at Scorpius's question still recalling the faces of people as the news spread across campus. As she recounted the events for Scorpius the scene in the Great Hall replayed in her head. The team members were not surprised to see her name down as Seeker as Captain Wood had announced it at the tryout before it had even ended. She still could recall the faces as the members of the team told people who their new seeker was. They looked shocked. At first they looked at her questioningly, doubtingly and then that turned to interest as a team member whispered in their ear, Rose guessed about the tryout.

Rose knew that there would be some people who would not want her to seek based purely off her reputation as class slut and party girl. She also guessed others would be disapproving but she could not wait to prove them wrong.

As Rose was telling Scorpius this she could tell that his mind was elsewhere but he wanted to hear this to try and distract himself from whatever the cause of his worries was. She knew better than to pester him about what his problem was today because he seemed so stressed out.

While Scorpius was caught up in his worries Rose still had her own. What she was concerned about was the few people that she knew still existed that would not want her to be a quidditch player because of her previous reputation. Rose knew that those people would irk her but she could not be everything everybody else wanted her to be. Rose also had one more worry growing at the back of her mind. Since she had told her parents that she was dropping out of school after next year they had started shutting her out. Her mother had especially shut her out because she believed in a completed education. She knew that news of her tryout would reach them soon and she did not know if they would come watch the game.

Rose guessed that once her father had watched her fly he would understand because he had played quidditch and was still heavily involved in the whole organization, but her mother would not understand the passion which goes into loving the game.

Hermione POV:

"Hey dear," Hermione called across her cozy house, "We got a letter from Hogwarts and it's not from one of the kids. We should probably read it together!"

"Yeah, hang on!" Ron called back.

Ron's heavy footsteps could be heard plodding down the stairs.

"Bloody hell!"

"Ronald! Don't swear!"

"I banged by bloody toe!"

"That's no reason!"

"Ah, just open the letter!"

Hermione opened the letter expecting the worst like a note of misbehavior, expulsion or suspension. She read it aloud.

_Dear Ron and Hermione_

_Hope all is well back at your home. Don't worry I'm not writing this letter as a teacher. No one got in trouble. Yet. I was writing to talk about Rose. How come you never told me she was such an amazing quidditch player? The halls are buzzing with her name and only the people at tryouts have seen her play. I have never had Captain Wood look so excited. Congrats on your daughter making the quidditch team. Hope to see you over the holidays!_

- _Neville Longbottom_

"Oh," Hermione sighed in relief, "I thought it was going to be something awful!"

"Well, are we going to watch a game? I want to see her play."

"I don't know Ron we don't want to encourage her. I mean this hobby will go away faster and she won't drop out of school."

"Hermione, dear, the halls of Hogwarts don't "buzz" about anything mediocre. If she played and only about ten people actually saw it and the whole castle is talking about it that means it was something amazing. I think we should see what this is about."

"Fine, as long as it's not a big to do that we show up."

"Should I write back to Neville?"

"No, I will."

Hermione sat back down to write her letter.

_Dear Neville_

_Thank you for you kind letter about Rose. We have never in fact seen her play although she has brought it up occasionally this year. Ron wishes to see her play and I think we will both come to the first match. Make sure to tell your sweet wife hello for us and we will be seeing you soon._

- _Hermione and Ron_


	11. Chapter 11

Draco's POV:

"Dear we received a letter from Scorpius, or rather I did," Draco's wife Astoria said, "He never writes home. I can't imagine what it's about."

"Hmmm," Draco replied not really interested. The crinkling of paper alerted him that the letter was being opened.

"Oh!" Astoria gasped.

Draco was surprised when he looked up to see the letter on the table and tears in his wife's eyes. Astoria tended to be a sensible person; she was not typically so emotional and so Draco question the content of his son's letter.

After scanning the letter briefly for any misconduct on his son's part he was briefly proud of Scorpius for listening when he talked about letter writing protocol and then became concerned over his wife's reaction of a request for a piano drill book.

"Why honey did a simple request make you cry?" Draco questioned softly not wanting to upset his distraught wife any further.

"It's a long story. Someday you'll realize it but it's not my story to tell and I don't even think I could." Astoria replied.

Draco watched in silence as his kind wife stood up and walked out of the room to get the requested belongings. She came back to the table, found packaging paper, quickly wrapped some paper and books and sent their owl on it's way with a neat package. Draco gazed at his wife from the table as she watched the owl fly out into the dusky evening.

Rose's POV:

It was Hogsmead weekend and Rose was glad of it. It had been a long week and she wanted to relax in a quiet castle with out anyone staring at her.

Originally she had thought of doing some shopping with Albus, Scorpius and Jasmine. However, Albus had finally worked up the nerve to ask Jasmine out and so that left her and Scorpius. The new plan then was for the two to go shopping together, but then Scorpius had received a strange parcel at breakfast and had rushed off calling to Rose that he was not going to go to Hogsmead this weekend.

Rose decided that whatever was in that package was very important and decided not to make a big deal of it. She wanted a weekend off.

Rose lay in her bed planning for a long day of reading when she realized that there was not going to be another Hogsmead weekend until after the masquerade dance. She needed to go Hogsmead. Rose ran around her room. She put on a pair of forest green leggings and a peach sweater dress. She found a pair of gold flats under her bed and a mint green knit hat. Rose grabbed her wallet and rushed out of her dorm, out of the castle and into Hogsmead where it was absolutely filled with Hogwarts kids.

Rose went past the stores that had girls lined up into the streets. She walked all the way to the edge of Hogsmead where the second hand, designer and artesian stores were located.

Lovegood Dresses, Shoes and Accessories were one of the best stores for balls and events. It was almost unknown to most of the wizarding population but to the few that wore Luna's clothes she was nothing less than the best. Some of the clothing was eccentric and was worn by a few famous Muggles. One went by the name Lady Gaga. According to the Muggleborns Rose knew she was a big deal.

Rose entered the shop and found that it was alive with color. Rose wandered through the quirky dresses in the front where she came to a counter at the back of the store where a slim blond woman she knew sat reading a Quibbler upside down.

"Hey, Rosie," Luna said dreamily not looking up from her paper, "I knew I would be seeing you soon. How are your parents?"

"Good, they-''

"Black and white, not very flattering for a red-head, no?"

"Yeah I guess."

"Don't worry Rose, everything will be done in a few minutes."

"I wasn't worried Luna."

"I know dear. It's just a nice thing to say. Do you want shoes?"

"Yes of course. Why did you ask?"

"Well mine seemed to be forever disappearing at Hogwarts so I figured you might not want that problem."

Rose smiled to herself remembering the story Uncle Harry told about Luna's shoe problem.

"I think they fixed the problem."

"Oh that's good dear. The dress is done, it's in the changing room."

"Luna, you didn't even leave the room. How is it done."

"I had it done before you even came, I just wanted to chat with someone."

Rose smiled at Luna's sentiment.

"I'll come back again then, even if I don't need a dress."

"Don't you worry dear, I'm fine."

"I wasn't worried Luna." Rose smiled again at the repetition of that phrase.

"Well go on try on the dress to make sure you like it and as always it's free of charge, friends discount."

Rose waved as she went into the dressing room knowing that Luna would have probably wandered off by the time she had finished changing. She always loved chatting with Luna, no matter what they talked about she always felt like she learned something even if it was not obvious.

Rose's dress was on an armless and legless manikin in a spotlight in the dressing room. It was beautiful. It almost seemed to have a fire lit with in. It had a simple sweetheart neckline with and inch wide straps one was black the other was white. The two colors started out rich and then blended together in the middle in a pattern of zigzags. The dress had sideways pleats, just two ever six inches. The underside was a shocking red and rubies were nestled subtly in the folds of the dress. The dress was form fitting and came down to about four inches above her knee.

Rose carefully slid the dress off of the manikin after tossing her clothes carelessly on the ground. She slid the dress carefully over her head and was excited to see the result. The zipper in the back zipped itself up and blended into the fabric leaving no seam. She felt the dress shift and mold to her skin. Rose turned around and gasped at the results. Her curves were accentuated and her hair looked like it glowed due to the ruby accents. Her legs looked long, her arms toned and thin. Luna could work miracles.

Rose looked around the dressing room for shoes and a mask, which she knew Luna had most definitely made. She spotted them on a shelf. The boots were a deep red, so deep they seemed black they came up about five inched above her ankle and had a small heel. They were made of a weird material, which was extremely soft leather. The mask was grey with accents of a deep red at random spikes and a few rubies; it only covered her eye area and the beginning of her nose.

Rose put the mask and the boots on and looked at the completed look. She now stood at 5'10 and was complete unrecognizable even to herself. She beamed at Luna's dress and accessories. Rose smiled to herself and thought; _Well Luna you've done it again, perfection in every way!_ Rose only needed to worry about her makeup and hair.

Rose slid off the gorgeous dress, shoes and mask. They floated into packaging and were tenderly wrapped by invisible hands. They then shrunk down to perfect carrying size. Rose finished getting dressed and grabbed the packed. Everybody did always say good things come in small packages. As she was walking out she noticed a note on the counter that started with Rose.

_Rose,_

_There is a hair and makeup shop two doors down on the left. Send me a picture of the dance._

_-Luna_

_Aww how sweet, she thought of everything, _Rose through to herself. Rose glanced at the clock in the store, which was brightly colored and covered in feathers and was shocked to see that an hour had passed. She rushed out of Luna's store calling goodbye as she left.

Scorpius's POV:

Meanwhile Scorpius cried over a piano. He sat in a completely grey room with a single glowing white piano: the Room of Requirement. The atmosphere was so dramatic that he could not even bring himself to play the first note.

His heart felt weak and his hands would tighten even when his hands just ghosted over the keys, not even playing any notes. He was terrified of what playing again would feel. It would hurt like a newly healed skin tearing open again and then that new gash would feel like it was on fire because someone poured pure alcohol into it. The only problem was this was not his skin it was his heart, his soul, his essence. What sane person would want to do that?

Scorpius slammed his hands down on the piano bench. He winced as the wood dug into his palms causing angry red creases. Tears ran down his cheeks not from the pain in his hands but what he was afraid of.

Scorpius stood up suddenly the wooden piano bench fell over with a loud echoing clonk in the empty room. He grabbed the papers and books of the piano and threw them angrily across the room. He tore them in half as he threw them. He never wanted to see black notes dance across white paper ever again. Why would he ever start with sheets he was so stupid. When he played last he did not play from a piece of paper he played mindlessly and from his hidden passion within. Why would he even imagine that he could find what he was looking for in a thirty-page drill book? He did not need to remember how to play; he knew that he would never forget.

Too afraid to even pause Scorpius bent over the piano standing he angled his hands over the keys. At first they just trailed over the snow-white keys like a weeping willows branches but then all of a sudden anger of being scared hit him the soft delicate notes poured into deep and resonating playing. It was intense. Scorpius felt like flames were running up and down his whole body, but they were not painful they were scorching flames of fervency.

All of a sudden the adrenalin died down and he played softly. Almost like a lullaby, it was calling him home; he could almost feel a gentle breeze blow through his hair cooling his thoughts. He smiled to himself and happy tears ran down his cheeks.

Scorpius walked out of the white room that seemed to be almost alive now leaving the shredded papers behind. He knew that he would never need them again.

Ashley's (Scorpius's ex from the train) POV:

Although Landon made her feel much more appreciated than Scorpius ever did she was still angry about the fact that he would degrade her so much in front of Landon when they broke up. Sure she had cheated but everybody knew that she and Scorpius would never stay together. Everybody also knew that they were just using each other purely for a physical relationship. Why else would the two of them ever be together? They always argued and fought otherwise.

Since Scorpius had called her, "just a good fuck" on the train she had been harboring some resentment towards him and decided that with the upcoming ball she could mess with his mind a little. She knew that he had feelings for that sad little excuse of a girl Rose Weasley. She had known since one time Scorpius whispered Rose's name while they were having sex. _Seriously_, she thought, _what party girl slut could ever be a start quidditch player? No girl, that's who. She was going to be a huge failure in the public eye!_

With that fact in mind Ashley decided that Rose was going to "get" a boyfriend. It would be just enough to put the already seemingly distraught Scorpius into a state of hysteria. _Ahhh, this will be fun to watch._


	12. Chapter 12

Rose's POV:

Rose woke up early. Her whole body trembled with excitement and nerves. It was her first match today; everybody would be watching her, whether it was to see her fail or to see her win the game. Both reasons made her tense. She was scared; she was so scared and she did not understand why. Scorpius told her that she was amazing and that she was his inspiration. Whatever that meant, but to her that was just one more person pressuring her to be the best and one more person he could not let down.

In addition to playing for a team, having people depend on her she was nervous about playing front of a lot of people. She did not know if she was going to be able to focus on her game like when she was alone. What if she could not play with all the noise and distractions? She needed to think of a way to get used to all the people, all the noise, and all the colors. She needed it to become normal, like the way it felt when she played in the pitch black.

Another thing that she needed to remember was that the snitch she would be playing with would be different than the one she trained with. She would be able to see it and it would move slower. This would change her timing.

Thinking over her problems of time and all the distractions she came up with a solution. She would have to check with the referee before she could go forward with her strange warm up. Her plan consisted of flying slow loops while the stands filled up to help her adjust to the new atmosphere so that by the time the game started everything would be normalized. After she felt completely normal in the new setting she would get off her broom and play catch with a normal snitch so she could see how fast she would have to react. She could do this while walking circles around the edge of the pitch to make sure she could catch it with all the distractions.

Feeling satisfied she got up out of her bed. She quickly pulled on some jeans, a sport bra and a Gryffindor t-shirt. She found her sneakers, which were under her bed and ran out of the dormitory. She rushed passed the great hall, outside and toward the practice pitch where the slightly decrepit but perfectly alert Madame Hooch had her office. The office abutted the high stonewalls of the practice pitch. Rose banged on the wooden door anxiously until the flustered ref opened the door.

"Rose Weasley? What is so important that you must bang on my door so impatiently?" Madame Hooch questioned angrily.

"It's about my warm up before the game. It's unconventional and I was wondering if you would okay it so in case it brings up problems before the game. I don't want to cause any type of disruption before the game!" Rose said in a concerned voice, "I mean it's my first game I just-''

"Ms. Weasley, calm down. Just tell me the plan and I'll tell you yes or no," Madame Hooch replied patiently.

Rose explained her warm-up in great detail to the surprisingly understanding referee. She was so happy when Madame Hooch okayed her plan. She was shocked that when the answer was yes she sighed with relief, Rose had not realized how much tension she was holding in. In her jubilance she hugged the older lady and ran back to the castle with some weight lifted off her shoulders.

When Rose walked back into the Great Hall she was happy to see that the amount of people had not increased from the number of ten since she had rushed through to reach Madame Hooch. She was grateful because she wanted to eat alone so she could focus on her game plan and not hurling up whatever food she got into her system before the match.

Rose drank a lot of water. She knew that she needed to be hydrated now in order to maintain her performance level through the entire match. She also ate some toast with peanut butter and raspberry jam. It was simple, but healthy. After about her five-minute breakfast only a few more students had come down to break fast so she rushed back upstairs before anyone confronted her about todays match.

She was glad to follow the familiar routine of putting her quidditch gear on, stretching and checking her broom. Rose knew that it was uncommon for players to keep their brooms right next to their bed but that's where she felt it would be most safe.

Rose ran her hands over her broom with her eyes closed to see if she had missed any imperfections that could only be felt. Sometimes when she just went over her broom with her eyes open she would fly and know something was wrong. Everything was perfect today, she was glad of that. While she did not usually believe in signs only logic she felt that in this case it was okay to do so.

Rose pulled on her sleek seeker outfit. It was different that the traditional team outfit. The traditional ones had a cape and slightly baggy shirt and pants or shorts. Rose since she twisted and jumped while she flied did not want to get tangled up in a cape or to have her body flashed to the entire population of due to baggy clothing. Rose also did not like the bright colored red that would not let her blend into the sky. Instead Rose wore a skintight grey body suit made of a stretchy synthetic material that moved with her body. In order to show that she belonged to the Gryffindor team there were parts of the grey that made her body look more defined with a deep red shading on top of the grey. The back simply said "Weasley" in all capitals.

Instead of sneakers Rose wore boots that she had had custom made. They were made of stiff black leather and reached her mid-calf. She had had them made when she realized that she was going to keep rolling her ankles when she jumped off of her broom at high heights in just sneakers. The boots had laces that wrapped around the back and front all the way up and thick buckles that looped all the way over that. The boots would never come off while she was flying or landing and they also had extra cushioning charmed and built in so she could land with even higher impact than she used too.

Rose stretched her muscles and was glad to feel that they were not sore or tired. Jack had gone easy on them last night so that they would not be hurting for todays match. She cracked her back, her neck, her shoulders and her ankles. That simple release of tension in her joints made her feel slightly better.

Before she left her room she pulled on her new gloves. They were like her old ones except the palms were changed. Instead of having dragon hide there, there was nothing. Having her palm there allowed her to grip her broom handle better and to grab the snitch, flesh to metal. She would not have to fumble around to grasp it. She wore the closed gloves in practice to challenge herself.

Gloves secure, broom in hand, uniform on, she was ready to go physically but not mentally. She forced herself to walk out of her room and down the stairs. When she reached the common room she was surprised to hear her friend squeal!

"Rose!" Jasmine said uncharacteristically loudly, "I usually don't find quidditch that interesting but I can't wait to see you fly! Albus and I are going to sit together and cheer for you!"

Rose smiled tensely at her friend's jubilance but Rose knew that she only meant the best.

"Thanks Jasmine," Rose said politely, "I'm going to walk down now so I'll see you after the game?"

"For sure, good luck!"

"Thanks," Rose called back already walking away in a daze.

When Rose walked outside the common room and down the stairs toward the great hall she was glad to see that Scorpius was pacing up and down the hall as if he was waiting for her. He did not notice her so Rose smiled to herself and waited until his back was turned. She ran softly until she was right behind him and jumped on his back.

He grunted with surprise and she giggled at his expense. She was careful not to let her broom hit him as he carried her towards the hall. Since she had leapt at him haphazardly it was not a surprise that when Albus rounded the corner coming out of the great hall that Scorpius ran into him and almost lost his balance with Rose still on his back.

"Scorpius," Rose giggled, "Put me down before you drop me."

He grinned back at her, her heart melted as putting her down softly.

"Thanks," Rose said biting her lip.

Rose and Scorpius turned to look at Albus as he groaned.

"What?" they both said in unison.

Rose laughed again and looked at Scorpius.

"You guys are just so… You don't even realize… It's just sad… Never mind you know what I meant," Albus said exasperatedly.

"Yes, we totally get it. I completely understood everything you were trying to say to us with those complex sentences!" Rose said sarcastically.

"Yeah mate, compound sentences! Eloquent vocabulary!" Scorpius chimed in.

"Aw, bugger off. You know I kind of liked you two better when you hated each other because I only had to deal with your individual intelligence's not them combined!"

"Albus, what an awful thing to wish on your friends!" Rose said sweetly.

"Hey Albus we're going to go now. I don't want Rose to be late for warm up. I'll meet you there. Where are you going to sit?"

"With Jasmine in the Gryffindor stands. You up for it?"

Rose watched as his face wrinkled at the thought of spending an entire quidditch match with a bunch of loud Gryffindor's.

"Yeah, I'll be there. It is Rose's first match after all."

Rose smiled up at him gratefully. They linked hands and walked away. Rose's palm tingled from the contact with Scorpius's. They walked past the open and bustling doors of the great hall together. Rose could feel the tension in her body start to rise again and she unknowingly must have tightened her grip on Scorpius's hand. Scorpius rubbed his thumb gently and soothingly up and down their clasped palms. Even though she was wearing gloves and could not feel his skin it was still comforting. She leaned into his body as they slowed and reached the quidditch pitch.

"Rose, listen to me before you go. I know that you think that you need to play this game for everybody. You think that you need to prove yourself to the other. You think that you need to show that you can do something that they all expect you not to be able to do. You don't need to. Play this game for yourself. That's all who matters. When you play for yourself and then others that is when something truly becomes great."

"Thanks, I needed to hear that. Promise me something?"

"Sure."

"Now that we're friends, you get the last hug before every game and the first one after every game?"

"Of course!"

Rose wrapped her arms around her new friends body. She let herself mold to his form. She inhaled his smell and let it envelope her. She smiled into his chest as she felt his chin rest on her head. Rose reluctantly retracted her arms.

"Thanks," she smiled and turned away quickly not wanting to loose her nerve. She looked over her shoulder once quickly and was surprised to see that Scorpius was still in the same spot, stationary with his eyes closed and a smile on his face.

**Hey everybody, I really want to apologize for posting so randomly with this story. Honestly I would not be surprised in everybody has stopped reading this. I am extremely grateful if you have stuck with this story while I figure it out. I think the chapters might come a little quicker now because I have an actual plot and stuff lined up so that should help, before I was just making it up as I go. If I actually finnish this story it will have about twenty more chapters. Thanks for reading! **


	13. A Note

Dear Lovely Readers,

Alas, I have not forgotten you! I have not had the motivation or time to write this story the way I know it should be done. If anyone reading this would like to adopt the story please PM me and we can talk!

-missing410years


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